MBDA has unveiled a naval version of its Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) ground combat missile at Euronaval 2018.

The company says the offering follows an operational evaluation of the MMP earlier this year by French forces in Djibouti which sought to confirm the reliability and operational performance of the system in a hot environment from the ground and from a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB).

MDBA says nine MMP missiles were fired and all hit their intended targets, including two which were fired by marines and commandos from a ECUME RHIB. One of the sea-launched MMPs was fired against a land target, the second against a naval target.

“Today’s launch of a family of naval systems based on the MMP missile is aligned with the trajectory we initiated with the French armies at the launch of the MMP program in 2011,” CEO of MBDA Antoine Bouvier said in a statement.

“By deciding at that time to introduce the most modern technologies of guidance and propulsion together with a multi-effect warhead, we laid the foundations of a family of weapons capable of meeting the most demanding constraints the armed forces may encounter in the field, in terms of tactical effects, in terms of mobility, as well as in environmental terms,” he added. “The MMP family sees today the advent of naval versions. I have no doubt that the MMP will give birth to other more powerful versions in the near future.”

The successful trials have allowed MDBA to broaden the MMP’s integration from RHIBs to also include fast attack craft. To this end, the company has developed a stabilised turret for fast attack craft which carries four marine-protected cannisters.