French Navy Orders Upgraded Exocet Block 3 Missile Sets

摘要

The French defence procurement agency (Delegation Generale pour L'Armement - DGA) has contracted MBDA to upgrade 45 French Navy MM40 Exocet Block 2 radar-guided anti-ship missiles to the Block 3 standard, writes Gareth Jennings. The surface-launched MM40 Block 3 missile offers improvements over the Block 2 variant in that the solid-propellant propulsion system has been replaced by an air-breathing turbojet, more than doubling the missile's range from 72 km to 180 km in the process. In addition, the Block 3 replaces all analogue interfaces between the missile subsystems (autopilot and control surfaces) and the launch system with digital systems.