France Orders 200 Akeron MP Anti-tank Missiles

The French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) placed an order for 200 MMP medium-range missiles, known as "Akeron MP" produced by MBDA.

This deal was signed on December 29 in accordance with the French Military Programing Law 2019-2025, the defense ministry said Thursday.

Last year, 200 MMP missiles had been received by the DGA and delivered to the joint munitions service (SIMu). As a reminder, Luxembourg placed an order for 90 MMP missiles in the summer of 2022, thus becoming a new country added to the list of European countries working with MBDA.

Akeron MP is the only latest-generation anti-tank missile in service with the French army since 2018. It can neutralize static and mobile targets up to a distance of at least 4 km. It features "fire and forget" capability, allowing the shooter to leave their position immediately after firing, and can hit a target autonomously without action from the shooter during flight. It can also be fired from an enclosed space, especially in the case of combat in an urban area.

With its digital positioning, orientation and communications capabilities, the MMP can engage both targets visible to the shooter and those beyond his direct sight. In the latter case, the shooter chooses a type of trajectory before firing then, during the flight, designates the target and refines the point of impact thanks to the color or infrared image feedback from the seeker.