Exocet French Anti Ship Missile

The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.

The Exocet is built by MBDA, a European missile company. Development began in 1967 by Nord as a ship-launched missile named MM 38. A few years later Aerospatiale and Nord merged. The basic missile body design was based on the Nord AS30 air to ground tactical missile. The air-launched Exocet was developed in 1974 and entered service with the French Navy five years later.

The relatively compact missile is designed for attacking small- to medium-size warships (e.g. frigates, corvettes, and destroyers), although multiple hits are effective against larger vessels, such as aircraft carriers. It is guided inertially in mid-flight and turns on active radar late in its flight to find and hit its target. As a counter measure against the air defence around the target, it maintains a very low altitude during ingress, staying 1-2 m above the sea surface. Due to the effect of the radar horizon, this means that the target may not detect an incoming attack until the missile is only 6000 m from impact. This leaves little time for reaction and stimulated the design of CIWS.

Its solid propellant engine gives the Exocet a maximum range of 70 kilometres (43 mi; 38 nmi). The solid-propellant engine was replaced on the Block 3 MM40 ship-launched version of the missile with a solid-propellant booster and a turbojet sustainer engine which extends the range to 180 kilometres (110 mi; 97 nmi). The submarine-launched version places the missile and a naval booster inside a launch capsule.

The Exocet has been manufactured in a number of versions, including:

• MM38 (surface-launched)
• AM38 (helicopter-launched - tested only)
• AM39 (air-launched)
• SM39 (submarine-launched)
• MM40 (surface-launched)

The chief competitors to the Exocet are the U.S.-made Harpoon, and the Chinese Yingji series.

MM40 Block 3

The newest MM40 version (MM40 block 3) has an improved range of 180 kilometres (110 mi; 97 nmi) through the use of a turbofan engine, and includes four air intakes to provide continuous airflow to the engine during high-G maneuvers.

The Block 3 missiles accept GPS guidance system waypoint commands, which allow them to attack naval targets from different angles and to strike land targets, giving them a marginal role as a cruise missile. The Block 3 Exocet is lighter than the previous MM40 Block 2 Exocets.

The 45 Block 3 Exocets were ordered by the French Navy in December 2008. These are not to be new productions but the conversion of older Block 2 missiles to the Block 3 standard. The first firing of the Block 3 from a warship took place on March 18, 2010, from the French Navy air defense frigate Chevalier Paul. Besides the French Navy, the Block 3 has been ordered by the navies of Greece, the UAE, Perú, Qatar, Oman and Morocco.

Exocet
Type	Medium-range anti-ship missile
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1979
Production history
Manufacturer	MBDA
Specifications
Weight	670 kilograms (1,500 lb)
Length	4.7 metres (15 ft 5 in)
Diameter	34.8 centimetres (1 ft 1.7 in)
Warhead	165 kilograms (360 lb)
Engine	solid propellant engine turbojet (MM40 Block 3 version)
Wingspan	1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in)
Operational range	70–180 kilometres (43–110 mi; 38–97 nmi)
Flight altitude	Sea-skimming
Speed	315 metres per second (1,030 ft/s)
Guidance system	Inertial and active radar
Launch platform	multi-platform: MM38 surface-launched AM39 air-launched SM39 submarine-launched MM40 surface-launched