A mock-up of SM40 on display at Euronaval. (Janes/Kate Tringham)
European missile house MBDA unveiled the next evolution of its Exocet submarine-launched anti-ship missile at the Euronaval 2024 maritime exhibition, which is being held from 4 to 7 November in Paris.
The new variant, dubbed SM40, leverages the latest technological enhancements of the company's Exocet MM40 Block 3C ship-launched missile to effectively more than double the range of its predecessor, the SM39.
Stefano Bertuzzi, head of naval systems at MBDA, described the new variant as a ‘mini-me' encapsulated version of the company's MM40 Block 3C. Early development work, which began around two years ago, has been focused on shortening the length of the missile and redesigning the wings to fit inside the SM39 torpedo launch tube capsule, which is being retained to minimise integration work and speed up time to market.
Bertuzzi said one of the key drivers behind SM40 development was the need to address the growing complexity of the maritime battlespace and to counter the significantly improved anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities of surface ships, which can now detect and engage submarines at much longer stand-off ranges.
The SM39, while a proven and reliable system, was designed for a more conventional threat environment, he said. “The SM40, as the successor to the SM39, will provide our naval customers with a missile that can tackle a wider range of targets and challenges,” he said.
Features of the SM40 include the same J-band active coherent seeker and algorithms as the MM40 Block 3C, which implement adaptive search patterns and metric resolution that enable the submarine to discriminate and identify targets in complex electronic warfare environments in all weather conditions.
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