Friday, December 13, 2024

FMAN/FMC program: Exocet and SCALP-EG successors to arrive shortly after 2030

Since the end of the Cold War, the development of weapons systems has slowed sharply, with the risk of symmetrical conflict radically reduced. This was particularly the case for munitions carried on board warships.

Thus, even today, the Exocet, Harpoon, SM-2 and other Tomahawks equip the majority of large Western combatant surface units. Obviously, these munitions have evolved significantly since 1990. Thus, the MM40 Bloc3C, which equips the FREMM and FDI frigates of the French Navy, displays performances largely superior to those of the Exocet which massively armed the French ships and Super-Étendards, during the Gulf War.

However, if these munitions have evolved, they have now reached a performance ceiling, which must be broken, to respond to the new equivalent Russian and Chinese capabilities, and above all, to penetrate the anti-aircraft and anti-missile defenses of these potential adversaries, if necessary.

The Future Anti-Ship Missile / Future Cruise Missile program, FMAN/FMC for the French acronym, and FC/ASW for the English, was launched by Paris and London for this purpose, within the framework of the Lancaster House agreements of 2010.

Although many of the projects which were to emerge from these Franco-British agreements have since been abandoned, This one will most likely go to its conclusion, planned for the beginning of the next decade, to provide the French and British naval and air forces, recently joined by Italy, with completely renewed capabilities in these areas.

MBDA unveils progress of the FMAN/FMC program at the Euronaval 2024 show

Following the highly publicised announcement concerning the development of the SM40 medium-change anti-ship missile, also planned for 2030, the European missile manufacturer MBDA also made the news at the Euronaval 2024 exhibition by providing a series of highly anticipated details regarding the status of the FMAN/FMC programme.

SM40 Exocet MBDA
Illustration of MBDA presenting the SM40 Exocet

The most essential information in this area is indeed the schedule of the program, which remains fixed for an entry into service planned for the end of the decade, or, at the latest, the beginning of the next one.

Thus, MBDA is currently completing the technological derisking phase, enabling the development of all the components of each of them to be validated, which will soon be followed by a preliminary production phase, opening the door to the long and difficult testing phase, at the end of which the first examples can be delivered to the armies of the three countries.

As anticipated, there will be two missiles. However, we now know the design logic of each of them, with a supersonic anti-ship missile on the one hand, and a stealth cruise missile on the other., on the other.

RJ10 supersonic anti-ship missile to replace Exocet, Harpoon and NSM

To replace the famous French Exocet, as well as the American Harpoon and the Norwegian NSM, MBDA is developing a supersonic missile powered by a ramjet, called RJ10.

Until now, Western heavy anti-ship missiles have relied on an identical configuration, called seaskimming in English, a missile flying close to the waves, from 2 to 5 m, at a high subsonic speed, of the order of Mach 0,9.

MM40 Exocet
Training firing of an MM40 Bloc3 missile by a French frigate

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3 Comments

  1. Encouraging article regarding the inventiveness and capacity for innovation of our defense industry.
    The questions remaining: although available, will our buildings be equipped with them?
    You only have to read the interview with Rear Admiral Desfougères (Air et Cosmos of 31/10/24) to see the efforts made without sufficient budget: equipment loaned by manufacturers! equipment dismantled from one ship to another! light frigates cannibalized if necessary (so a float out of service because an accessory broke down...)!
    I wonder if the IDF under construction has a hangar roof pre-equipped for a Rapid Fire?
    If not, what a waste!

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