Saab signs warhead contract with MBDA France for MMP missile 30807151

Defence & Security News - France
 
Saab signs warhead contract with MBDA France for MMP missile
The Lebanese Army received a shipment of Chinese weapons Friday, July 3,, the latest in a recent series of international arms deliveries to help Lebanon contain the militants on its eastern border with Syria. The Army statement did not specify what types of weapons and ammunition, or the quantity of the arms, were included in the shipment, which arrived in Beirut’s port before noon.
     
Saab signs warhead contract with MBDA France for MMP missile MMP is man portable (the missile in its tube weighs only 15kg), easy to set up and operate by a two-man team
     

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.

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.

“Our cooperation with MBDA France is extraordinary and mutually beneficial,” says Stephan Kocher, head of Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland.

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.

On February 2015, the French Defence Procurement Agency (Direction Générale de l'Armement) successfully carried out the first firing of MMP (Missile de Moyenne Portée or Medium Range Missile), the successor to the Milan weapon system. MMP is man portable (the missile in its tube weighs only 15kg), easy to set up and operate by a two-man team. It is the ideal combat support weapon for the modern soldier who might be called upon to fight either out in the open battlefield or from confined spaces within a complex urban environment.

The system can be used either in conjunction with a lightweight, portable digital firing post (weighing only 11kgs, battery included) or alternatively, mounted on a typical armoured vehicle. Its shaped tandem warhead (MMP features a unique selectable charge depending on the intended target) provides lethality at ranges of up to 4km against a wide range of stationary or moving ground targets from bunkers and machine gun posts to tanks equipped with the latest explosive reactive armour (ERA).