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indomiliter (Indonesia), oct.18)
MBDA delivers Exocet MM40 Block 3c anti-ship missile, more resistant to jamming and able to sort out targets
MBDA Missile Systems, a renowned missile manufacturer based in France, is said to be delivering the first unit of its latest anti-ship missile, the Exocet MM40 Block 3c to the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in December 2022. What are its advantages?
Quoted from Navalnews.com (17/10/2022), the 2023 defence budget request document published last week states that the Exocet MM40 Block 3c missile will be delivered in December 2022. This latest generation of Exocet was originally planned to be delivered in 2021. The latest budget document shows that only 4 missiles will be delivered this year, with an additional 31 MM40 Block 3c missiles to be delivered in 2023. The total number of missiles ordered by the French Navy is 55 units.
Interestingly, the French Ministry of Armed Forces also ordered 45 units of "MM40 Block 3c kits", the first of which (four in total) will be delivered in September next year. The MM40 Block 3c kit will be used to convert the MM40 Block 3 missile into the latest MM40 Block 3c variant.
Compared to the MM40 Block 3 variant (which is also used by the Indonesian Navy), the "Block 3c" variant is equipped with a new digital RF (radio frequency) seeker produced by Thales. The "c" label on this anti-ship missile means coherent. The most important benefit of Coherent Radar Processing is the ability to distinguish relatively small speed differences (which correspond to small differences in phase).
This coherent target processing technology offers Doppler resolution/estimation and provides less interference and signal/noise benefits compared to non-coherent processing.
In principle, the Exocet MM40 Block 3c is more resistant to the latest jamming systems and may (at least on paper) even be able to recognise surface ships, thanks to the use of advanced waveforms: This means that the seeker system will potentially be able to recognise a targeted ship within a group of ships and impact a specific area of the target.
The above advantages are already achieved by modern anti-ship missiles such as LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) and NSM (Naval Strike Missile), but both use infrared seekers.
While the Block 3 upgrade of the Exocet brings a longer range (200 Km) thanks to the turbojet engine and the ability to strike coastal targets, thanks to GPS navigation support, this battle proven missile uses the same RF seeker as the Exocet Block 2.
Similar upgrades to the air-to-surface Exocet variant AM39, are not planned so far. However, the SM39 submarine-launched variant may receive a seeker system upgrade. Both missiles have received system digitisation upgrades to the AM39 Block2 Mod2 variant standard for Rafale F3, and the SM39 Block2 Mod2 standard for Suffren Class submarines (Barracuda SSN programme). A coherent seeker upgrade could take the missile further to the SM39 Block 3c variant.
The Exocet MM40 Block 3 is powered by a NAMMO-made Turbomeca TR-40/263 turbojet with rocket booster, this 780 kg, 6 metre long missile can cruise at high subsonic speeds. This anti-ship missile can effectively strike targets at a distance of 200 Km. /deepl
