In 2020, the Organisation for joint armament cooperation (OCCAR), on behalf of the DGA, selected AKERON LP for the Future Tactical Air-Ground Missile (MAST-F) programme. The missile was based on the technologies of AKERON MP and initially designed to equip the Tiger Mk3. Recently, the weapon system has successfully completed two further stages with the DGA, helping the programme advance in its schedule. With this product, MBDA offers an innovative European weapon system based on expertise recognised by armed forces and adapted to changes in the battlefield. The aim now is to integrate the missile onto several combat platforms.
Two successful firings
On 5 February 2025, the first ground firing of the AKERON LP missile was carried out at the DGA test centre on Ile du Levant with the support of OCCAR. The success of this firing is due to the effective collaboration of the entire system operation. This includes the on-board equipment representative of the final missile, the flight software and the algorithms. .
On 19 March 2025, AKERON LP went on to further success, with a separation firing from a Tiger helicopter (test bench) at the DGA test centre in Cazaux. The fired missile consisted of a booster motor and a telemetry device; the device collect all the flight data when launched from the moving helicopter. This success builds on the achievements of the first firing helping the programme progress further and onto the next stage.
The success of these two firings confirms the positive progression of the AKERON LP programme through the effective dialogue between MBDA, the DGA (through its test centres) and the OCCAR support teams. It also demonstrates the successful collaboration between MBDA’s industrial teams and its main partners: Roxel, Safran, Thales, JT2M and SBDS. The weapon system is completely under a European design authority, meaning it can further contribute to strengthening of national and European defence capabilities. Nearly 250 jobs will be generated in France for the development and production of this new missile.
A versatile missile
AKERON LP is a member of the AKERON family, and based on the technologies developed for AKERON MP, a fifth-generation missile that entered service in the armed forces in 2017. AKERON LP is designed to be a long-range multi-role missile with a minimum range of 8 kilometres. It is equipped with a three-mode homing head and a secure data link. This gives the missile a capability of an autonomous “fire and forget” mode while maintaining the human-in-the-loop. AKERON LP offers multiple unique capabilities such as the ability to fire beyond the line of sight and of modifying the point of impact on the target. The missile also has the capability to alter its flight path to adapt to weather conditions and the firing environment. Finally, the missiles multi-effect charge allows it to neutralize static or moving platforms in complex environments. The weapon system is also effective against infrastructure and armour.
Through the innovation of AKERON LP, MBDA highlights its abilities in developing complex weapon systems by combining various technologies within their products. The technical features of the missile comprises of: optronic algorithms, warheads, RF data link, guidance and image processing based on artificial intelligence (AI) and data fusion principles. The missiles ability to engage with targets beyond its line of sight will support the armed forces when faced in high-pressure situations.
As work continues to integrate AKERON LP on Tiger helicopters, the missile also has the capability of adapting to different platforms, such as the medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (in particular the Eurodrone) and land vehicles. This capability set allows for flexibility in the missile of use in all combat situations without losing effectiveness.