Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
September 8, 2008
IWG Report 2007
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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MM-40 Exocet
| Country: | France |
|---|---|
| Class: | SLCM |
| Target: | Ship |
| Length: | 5.80 m |
| Diameter: | 0.35 m |
| Launch Weight: | 870.00 kg |
| Payload: | 165 kg HE, fragmentation |
| Propulsion: | Solid |
| Range: | 70.00 km |
| Guidance: | INS, active radar |
| Status: | Operational |
| In Service: | 1981-Present |
| Exported: | South Africa, Turkey, Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, South Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocc, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Sauda Arabia, Taiwan |
Details
The MM-40 Exocet is a short-range, solid propellant, single warhead, air-launched cruise missile developed and manufactured by France. Several hundred were fired in combat during the Falklands conflict and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
France initially designed the Exocet (“Flying Fish” in French) family of cruise missiles to attack and destroy large warships. The ship-launched MM-40 began development in 1976 as an improved version of the MM-38. Development was completed in 1980, and full scale production started in 1981. The MM-40 is currently deployed in eight-launch canisters on Type F 65 and “George Leygues” class destroyers; in four-launch canisters on “La Fayette” and “D’Estienne D’Orves” class frigates; as well as on fast attack craft of various types.
The Exocet family of missiles are all the same basic shape, the only differences being the length and wing shape. The MM-40 has four delta-shaped wings at mid-body, and four delta-shaped control fins at the rear. The missile is 5.6 m long, 0.35 m in body diameter, and has a launch weight of 870 kg. It carries a high explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 165 kg. The missile has an increased maximum range of approximately 70 km.
After its launch, the MM-40 stabilizes in the direction of its target at its first cruising altitude, low enough to avoid detection by its target yet high enough to allow its active radar seeker head to acquire the target. Midcourse guidance is by an inertial navigation system (INS) and a radio altimeter, allowing the missile to fly a sea-skimming trajectory to its target. The MM-40 descends to its second cruise altitude for the terminal phase, with a final approach at an altitude determined by prevailing sea conditions, sometimes as low as 3 m. Terminal guidance is provided by an active radar.
The MM-40 entered service in 1981 and is still in production. The missile was upgraded in the early 1990s, which gave it the ability to fly at a lower altitude of 2 to 3 m and make preprogrammed maneuvers. It also has an improved discrimination capability among multiple targets, decoys, and coastal features. The upgraded missiles entered service in 1985 and are still in production. Other proposed variants feature an improved INS system; a digital guidance computer and GPS receiver; and a new active radar seeker with target recognition and aim point selection. A coastal defense variant was also developed under the designation BC-40.
France had manufactured a total of 3,300 Exocet family missiles. Sources indicate that 800 MM-40 missiles have been built. France has offered the MM-40 for export, and its client states include Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, South Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., and Uruguay.
In May 2002, a new MM-40 design was proposed, featuring a turbojet engine that would give the missile a maximum range of 180 km. A development and initial production contract awarded in February 2004. The MM-40 Block 3 design, as it is known, will be for both ship- and ground-launched variants, with the first operational missile expected for deployment on “La Fayette” class frigates. Sources indicate that a vertical launch capability may be developed, and that air- and submarine-launched versions may follow.
The MM-40 Block 3 is expected to have an improved INS/GPS guidance system, specifically designed to improve the performance in littoral operations and to provide a land attack capability. The new missile will be capable of making evasive maneuvers in its terminal flight phase to avoid defensive surface-to-air missile systems. The MM-40 Block 3 is expected to enter service in 2007, and upgrades for existing missiles will be made available.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 45 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, July 2006), pp. 44-46; GlobalSecurity.org, “Exocet AM.39/MM.40,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/exocet.htm, accessed on 1 July 2006; MBDA, “Exocet MM40 Block 2,” available at http://www.mbda.net/mbda/site/FO/scripts/siteFO_contenu.php?lang=EN&noeu_id=106, accessed on November 8, 2006; MBDA, “Exocet MM40 Block 3,” available at http://www.mbda.net/mbda/site/FO/scripts/siteFO_contenu.php?lang=EN&noeu_id=108, accessed on November 8, 2006; Andrew Rathmell, “Threats to the Gulf-Part 1,” Jane’s Intelligence Review, March 1, 1995; “Exocet missiles add a new dimension to Cyprus tension,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, April 15, 1995; James Bruce, “Armour, SAMs, and Exocets,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, April 3, 1996; “Greece orders 27 Exocet MM 40s,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, September 1, 2000; J.A.C. Lewis, “French deal will furnish navy with new Exocet variant,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, February 11, 2004; “Royal Brunei Navy fires Exocets during exercise,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, September 28, 2006.
