The Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil)launched the third prototype of the Antinavio Surface Missile (MANSUP) on July 10, targeting the hull of the former “Tridente” Deep Sea Tugboat. In this third test were made additional checks, recorded by means of telemetry data, also national, installed in the missile and in participating units of the operation. The information obtained will be used as subsidies to proceed with the improvement of the component subsystems. The event took place in the maritime area between Rio de Janeiro and Cabo Frio.
The succesful launch, conducted by the “Independence” Frigate, proved that all subsystems performed well and behaved in a harmonic manner. Three ships of the Fleet, the Multipurpose Dock “Bahia” (G 40), the Frigate “Constitution” (F 42), and the launcher were used, which was the “Independence” Frigate (F 44). The results confirmed the progress of the project and the adjustments made after the first tests in November 2018 and March 2019, on board the “Barroso” Corvette and the “Independência” Frigate, respectively.
The operation was also supported by the Ocean Patrol Vessel “Apa” and the “Purus” Ocean Support Vessel from the 1st Naval District; Squirrel (UH-12), Super Cougar (UH-15), Seahawk SH-16) and Lynx (AH-11A) helicopters of the Naval Air Force Command, and a P-3AM maritime patrol aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force, as well as a detachment of Combat Divers.
National Anti-Ship Missile (MÃssil Antinavio Nacional, MANSUP) also named AV-RE40 —previously known as MAN-1—is an $75 USD millions anti-ship missile project under development by Avibras, Mectron, Atech and Omnisys for the Brazilian Navy. The design aims performance similar to MBDA MM40 Exocet Block III. An initial asset of R$50 millions was sponsored by the Brazilian Navy, through the Directorate of Navy Weapons Systems, contracts were signed on 5 and 6 December 2011, with Mectron and Avibras, respectively.
