MBDA strengthens its close relationship with Greece with a contract for mid-life refurbishment (MLR) of the SCALP missiles of the Hellenic Air Force, signed on May, 11 2023. The contract was signed by Admiral Aristeidis Alexopoulos, General Director for Defence Investments and Armaments of the Greek Ministry of National Defence, and Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA. This MLR contract is dedicated to the SCALP missiles of the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) and includes the procurement of mission planning products, maintenance and technical assistance. This will prolong the operational superiority of the weapon against future threats.
Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, said: “The signing of this contract has a particular meaning for MBDA, coming 55 years after we signed our first-ever Exocet contract with Greece. Our commitment since then never faltered and we are very honored by this additional expression of trust from the Hellenic Air Forces towards MBDA for the mid-life refurbishment of these SCALP missiles. This is again reinforcing our commitment to continue to deliver key sovereign capabilities that provide the best solutions to meet the requirements of the Hellenic Armed Forces customer.”
SCALP is an Anglo-French low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. SCALP (Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée – Emploi Général”; General Purpose Long-Range Cruise Missile) is the weapon’s France name, in U.K it is called Storm Shadow. The missile has a range of approximately 560 km (300 nmi; 350 mi), and delivers a conventional BROACH warhead of 450 kilograms (990 lb). It is propelled at Mach 0.8 by a turbojet and can be carried by the now retired RAF Tornado GR4, Italian Tornado IDS, Saab Gripen, Dassault Mirage 2000 and Dassault Rafale aircraft.
The SCALP missile currently equips the Hellenic Air Force’s Mirage 2000-5 and Rafale multirole fighter aircrafts. The air-launched cruise missiles concerned by this mid-life refurbishment were ordered as part of the original weapon package for the Dassault Mirage 2000-5 multirole fighter aircrafts. Further SCALP missiles were ordered by Greece as part of the weapon packages for the 18 Rafale ordered in 2021 and the additional six Rafale ordered in 2022. 90 ordered for the Hellenic Air Force in 2000 and 2003. More ordered and delivered in 2022 as part of the Dassault Rafale F3R deal.