With the SM40 Exocet, French submarines will have a complete range of new-generation munitions

One of the major announcements at the Euronaval 2024 show will certainly have been made by MBDA, the European missile manufacturer, regarding the development of the SM40 Exocet medium-changing anti-ship missile.

With the return of international tensions and the arrival of new threats, such as drones and anti-ship ballistic missiles, submarines have once again become, in recent years, a major issue for the world's navies, as shown by the increase in global competitions and consultations on this subject.

France, and its industrial Naval Group, are ready to meet global expectations in this area, with a range of very high-performance conventional submarines, ranging from the 2000-ton Scorpene to the 4500-ton Shortfin Barracuda, all equipped with new lithium-ion batteries and a wide range of sensors.

Already very attractive in terms of performance and price, these new-generation submarines will be able to rely, by 2030, on another strong argument: a range of sovereign, new-generation underwater munitions, which will become exhaustive with the arrival of the new SM40 Exocet.

Next-generation underwater munitions to meet the new challenges of underwater warfare

The renewed interest in submarines observed in recent years within the world's navies has led to the emergence of a richer global offering than ever in this field, with the Spanish S-80+, the Japanese Taigei, the South Korean Dosan Anh Changho, the Swedish A26 Blekinge, the German Type 212 CD, and the French Scorpene Evolved and Blacksword Barracuda in the West, but also the Russian Lada and the Chinese Type 039A.

All of these ships have significantly improved performance compared to previous generation ships, whether in terms of diving autonomy, acoustic discretion, detection capabilities or specific functionalities, such as the use of commandos or combat divers.

To exploit their new performance and to respond to the progress made in the enemy's anti-submarine warfare, these NG submarines rely on sensors and communication capabilities that are also new generation.

All that was missing was a range of new underwater munitions, in order to give birth to a homogeneous and effective system of systems. In this area, France is on the verge of taking a considerable lead over its Western competitors.

A complete range of NG ammunition designed to integrate natively into French submarines

Indeed, with the arrival of the new SM40 anti-ship missile, French submarines, or those of French manufacture, will have all the new-generation munitions necessary for the effective implementation of these new-generation vessels.

MBDA's SM40 Exocet medium-changing anti-ship missile, a major capability development for French submarines

The announcement of the development of the new SM40 Exocet anti-ship missile with a change of environment (launched by a submerged submarine) has, in fact, completed a range of underwater munitions designed to exploit the performance of the new submersibles of Naval Group and its Submarine Team, such as the Suffren class SSNs, as well as the conventionally powered submarines Scorpene Evolved and Blacksword Barracuda.

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