MBDA Wins MMP Medium-range Missile Contract

MBDA has won a contract for the development and production of the Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) medium-range missile. 

This program is one of the new generation of weapon projects intended to modernize the French army, and included in the future multi-year Program Law. The goal is to provide the army with a new battlefield utility missile to replace the Milan beginning in 2017. It will be employed by front-line combat units and by special forces.

The combined requirement is for 400 launchers and 2,850 missiles; the first 175 launchers and 450 missiles will be delivered by 2019.

The MMP is a multirole, fire-and-forget missile with however the option to keep a man “in the loop.” It will allow troops to neutralize various types of targets encountered on all theaters of operation, with high accuracy and low collateral effects. It will also reduce operators’ vulnerability during firing.

The MMP is a new-generation, high-technology missile with as great an export potential as Milan had in its time. It contributes to maintaining French technological know-how in the tactical missiles industry (9,000 jobs), especially in some technological niches such as thermal-imaging seekers where some subcontractors have specific capabilities.