MBDA to Upgrade 45 Exocet Block 2 to Block 3 Missile Standard for the French Navy

Released on Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) notified MBDA in late December 2008 an order for the conversion of 45 Exocet Block2 anti-ship missiles into Block 3 missiles. The missiles will be delivered to the French Navy in 2011 and 2012.

This order follows the contract for the development of the Exocet MM40 Block 3 notified in January 2004. The DGA cleared the Block 3 missile qualification in April 2008.

These missiles will be provided to the Horizon-class frigates on which the work of integrating facilities for firing was also completed in 2008. In the longer term, the MM40 Block 3 will be the main anti-ship missile for the multi-mission frigates (FREMM).

The development of the Exocet Block 3 missile focus on the presence of a turbojet engine that replaces the solid propellant in earlier versions, as well as the integration of latest generation avionics with a GPS receiver. These changes double the range of the missile while allowing a variety of attack angles against a given naval target or to attack targets in the coastal environment utilizing their geographic coordinates.