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Saab to produce warhead for MBDA MMP missile

© MBDA / Isabelle Chapuis Saab has signed a warhead production contract with MBDA France for the MMP medium-range missile. The order...

© MBDA / Isabelle Chapuis

Saab has signed a warhead production contract with MBDA France for the MMP medium-range missile. The order has been placed with Saab’s subsidiary Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland (SBDS), with deliveries scheduled for 2017.

The MMP (Missile Moyenne Portée, medium-range missile) is a high-technology, new-generation battlefield missile. It is established as one of the French MoD’s major new programmes, within its Military Planning Act 2014-2019, to modernise the French Army.

This versatile missile, conceived by MBDA France, is currently in its development phase following notification of a development contract by the French defence procurement agency, the DGA. Maiden firing of the missile was carried out in Feb 2015.

The warhead for the MMP has been developed by Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland (SBDS). With high precision, the MMP will enable armed forces to neutralise the many different target types that they might encounter.

Tests with the warhead against the latest generation of explosive reactive armour have been successfully completed. The warhead ensures that collateral damage is kept to a minimum while maximising the safety of the operator.

The man portable MMP, which has a range of 4 km can be fired in three operational modes, fire-and-forget, man-in-loop and lock-on-after-launch.

SBDS is an industry leader in the design, development and production of mortar rounds, warheads, less-lethal applications and other energetic products. The company is a specialist in total munitions life cycle management and provides servicing of different ammunition types, mainly for large-calibre products. SBDS operates as a subsidiary of Saab and is based in Thun, Switzerland where it maintains a start-of-the-art development and production site with advanced test and simulation facilities.