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The MMP is a new French anti-tank guided missile
Country of origin France
Entered service expected in 2017
Armor penetration 1 000 mm
Concrete penetration 2 000 mm
Range 4 000 m
Missile length 1 300 mm
Missile diameter 140 mm
Fin span ?
Missile weight 15 kg
Launcher weight 11 kg
Warhead weight ?
Warhead type HEAT
Guidance Imaging infrared / TV
The Missile Moyene Portee or MMP by MBDA is marketed as a fifth-generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) and the first in a planned family of missiles.
The MMP debuted in 2012 after MBDA won the contract to fulfill the French Army’s requirement for a medium-range missile that could defeat everything from tanks to bunkers to hostile troops in buildings. Since its initial test firing in 2014 its features have been tweaked and improved, resulting in a system that could make a huge splash among the sizable clientele of France’s arms industry.
The MMP represents a long-term investment in anti-armor technology. Since the French armed forces still deploys its second-generation HOT and MILAN missiles along with a small batch ofJavelins the MMP is supposed to replace all these systems by the 2020s. Its applications include vehicular ATGMs like the MMP remote weapon station for the Sherpa multi-purpose combat vehicle featuring built-in tandem launchers mated to a Browning M2 machine gun.
Another role for the MMP in the near future is to be the primary armament of French MALE UAVs. This may require an upgraded variant of the missile with performance characteristics on par with the Spike-NLOS or the Hellfire.
At first glance the MMP looks like a worthy successor to the 1970s vintage MILAN. But the MMP has more in common with the American Javelin and the Israeli Spike even when its differences from both are apparent. The MMP follows a convenient ATGM setup consisting of a launch tube, a portable fire control system / guidance unit with day and night optics, and a collapsible tripod mount. Taking a cue from the Eryx portable ATGM, the MMP is suited for indoor launches in confined spaces owing to a diminished back blast.
Unlike the Javelin, however, the MMP isn’t shoulder-fired and needs to be assembled before launch. This is intentional since the French Army prefers ATGMs that can be deployed in ambush and the MMP’s weight is on the heftier side of the spectrum owing to its large missile.
Using current tracking technology and its own experience manufacturing world-class weapon systems the MMP offers non-line-of-sight-launch for both extreme ranges and obscured targets. The operator can even choose his or her preferred launch mode depending on the mission, i.e. fire-and-forget or man-in-the-loop.
As a flyover or top attack system with fire-and-forget capability during combat a single operator designates a target via the command launch unit and then fires, sending the missile on an arc that terminates above a tank or a structure. This makes it a worthy peer to other top attack ATGMs.
The MMP is unique for a “man-in-the-loop” feature that gives the operator manual guidance over the missile, allowing him or her to trace its course until it destroys the target.
Another appealing feature of the MMP is its reduced back blast for launches indoors—a critical ability since urban warfare is the new normal.
It is planned that a total of 400 MMP launchers along with 2 850 missiles will enter service with the French Army in 2017.
http://www.military-today.com/missiles/mmp.htm
