MBDA delivers 1000th MMP missile to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces
Following authorisation from the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French
procurement agency, MBDA completed the delivery of a batch of MMP (Missile Moyenne Portée /
medium range missile) to the French Service Interarmées des Munitions (SIMu) on 16 November
2021, which included the 1000th MMP. According to the Loi de Programmation Militaire, the
delivery of 1,950 missiles is planned by 2025.
In use by the French armed forces since 2017, MMP has also been ordered by Belgium and Sweden.
MMP is the latest generation anti-tank missile in service to have been successfully engaged in
combat on several occasions.
With more than 100 tests and training firings under its belt, MMP is capable of dealing with all
battlefield threats, in all types of environment: cold or hot extremes, urban, maritime and
mountainous spaces. It can also be fired from confined spaces, an essential capability for combat in
urban areas.
MMP offers both a “fire and forget” capability, allowing the operator to move to another position
immediately after firing the missile, and a “man-in-the-loop” capability for engagements requiring a
minimized risk of collateral damage. Using a dual-band visible/non-cooled infrared seeker, MMP can
acquire both hot and cold targets and then track them completely autonomously. For engagements
requiring continuous man-in-the-loop control, a fibre-optic link relays the seekers imaging back to
the firing post.
With both the firing post and the missile being equipped with capabilities including location,
orientation and digital communication, MMP is able to engage Beyond-Line-Of-Sight (BLOS) targets
equally as well as those in direct line of sight, and, if required, under the permanent control of its
operator or commander.
MMP is equipped with an unprecedented tandem military charge, versatile and capable of handling a
wide target set, including field fortifications, armoured vehicles, or even combat tanks equipped with
the most modern reactive armour.
In a dismounted version, MMP has a lightweight, easily man-portable, firing station. MMP can also
be mounted onto various platforms such as light and armoured vehicles, and naval platforms. The
modular architecture of the MMP weapon system enables its integration on different types of turrets
such as IMPACT, or heavier ones such as the one equipped with the 40 CTA cannon.
All of these technical characteristics make MMP the most versatile latest generation land combat
missile on the market.
The development of an air-to-ground version was launched by the Ministry of the Armed Forces at
the end of 2020 with MHT (Missile Haut de Trame / top frame missile), a long range missile intended
to equip the Tiger attack helicopters. It is also a candidate for arming the European MALE Eurodrone
as well as for land vehicles.