MBDA has confirmed that first firings of its Missile Moyenne Portée (Medium-Range Missile/MMP) anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) have been successfully carried out from a Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle (MPCV) at an undisclosed location. MPCV is the latest generation of high firepower weapon system specifically designed to meet the most demanding requirements of modern combat in both complex urban and open battlefield environments. Already well established in its MPCV/Mistral air defence version deploying the Mistral VSHORAD missile, MPCV/MMP is also available and features MBDA’s fifth generation, land combat MMP missile.
MPCV was developed by MBDA and Rheinmetall Defense Electronics and the first batch were sold to an undisclosed customer in the Middle East with MBDA Mistral fire-and-forget surface-to-air missile (SAM) and a 12.7mm machine gun (MG). The system is completely operable from within the vehicle, or remotely through a state-of-the-art, fully mobile workstation which can be installed in a building, a bunker, or any protected place if static operations are called for. MMP, already in service with the French Army, offers a wide range of next generation features whether deployed by dismounted infantry from a digital firing post or from armoured vehicles such as MPCV/MMP.
MPCV turret design is focused on modularity and therefore provides the ideal platform for MMP which itself has been designed to be multi-purpose. Housing four MMP missiles (in a 2×2 configuration), this motorised turret is suitable for a wide range of light and medium armoured vehicles as well as larger tracked platforms. The gyrostabilised day/night thermal optical sensor and firing control units are all integrated within the turret. A 12.7 mm (.50 calibre) machine gun completes the system’s overall firepower. The turret includes electro-optical sensors, a small calibre gun and 4 ready to fire missiles that can be operated from a firing console installed inside the vehicle.
MMP is a French man-portable anti-tank guided missile. It was developed by MBDA Missile Systems and is intended as a replacement for their MILAN, which has been sold worldwide. The missile and its guidance system offer three different operating modes: Fire-and-Forget, Man In The Loop with fibre optic data-link and Lock-on after launch (LOAL) for non-line-of-sight (NLOS) and using third party target designation. It’s effective against modern AFV and MBT armour. A tandem warhead is used, making it effective against conventional, composite and reactive armour. Upon detonation, the warhead also sprays 1,500 tungsten splinters, effective against personnel out to 15 meters.
