Skip to main content

First Firing Of MBDA’s SCALP Naval Missile

France: The first test firing of the SCALP Naval missile was carried out successfully by the French DGA (Direction Generale de l'Armement) at its Biscarosse test range on 28th May 2010. SCALP Naval is a development for the French Navy's naval cruise missile MdCN (Missile de Croisiere Naval) programme.
The firing was carried out using a FREMM frigate configuration from a production series Sylver A70 launcher.
As a result of this successful test, the maturity of the weapon system's definition as well as the technology options selected by MBDA have been validated. Indeed, all phases of the missile's flight proceeded perfectly to plan, from the vertical launch, the separation of the ejectable booster right through to the conclusion of its cruise flight.

This first test firing, being representative of a typical mission, has, amongst other benefits, allowed the full flight envelope to be by and large carried out. It has also validated SCALP Naval's interface with the operational Sylver launcher.
The SCALP Naval munition is a development covering two configurations responding to the French Navy's mission needs, comprising a vertical launch variant destined for surface vessels such as the FREMM frigate and a sub-surface / air transition version to arm the nuclear-powered Barracuda attack submarine.
"MdCN is a major programme for MBDA. The total success of this first SCALP Naval firing demonstrates our ability to maintain the highest level of technology as well as a strong industrial base in France, both coming together in response to the country's strategic needs", said Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pakistani JF-17 A Thunder OR A Blunder

Pakistan has witnessed new defense acquisitions in this decade than any other, and in the center of it all is the new fighter which was designed by China with partial funding from Pakistan. It is formally known as JF-17 Thunder. When the fighter was in development, Pakistani online communities were jumping with excitement comparing it with its arch rival India’s modern combatants Su-30MKI, Mig-29S & Mirage-2000H. There were claims of it featuring western Radars and long range missiles, & Chinese ordering some due to its superior capabilities. But the reality is far from it. China having spent significant amount of money into a fighter which it is never going to use, most probably forced Pakistan to accept its avionics to offset some its development costs. Chinese who are known for their self reliance first and quality next, are further downgrading JF-17s capabilities with their poorly copy-pirated avionics. Along with their dubious weapons, any chance of JF

Pakistani F-16s Shoot Down RAF Eurofighter Typhoons During Air Combat Exercises In Turkey

Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer. Analysis: The RAF Typhoon, formerly known as the Eurofighter, should nonetheless have been vastly superior in air-to-air combat whether BVR or close in within visual range (WVR). The cripplingly expensive, long-delayed Eurofighter was specifically designed to address the defects of its predecessor the Tornado F3 – famously almost useless in close-in, dogfighting-style air combat. The Typhoon was meant to see off such deadly in-close threats as Soviet "Fulcrums" and "Flankers" using short-range missiles fired using helmet-mounted sight systems: such planes were thought well able to beat not just Tornados but F-16s in close fighting, and this expectation was borne out after the Cold War when the Luftwaffe inherite

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'. Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. "India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.