Back to news

November 27, 2020 | International, Naval

Missile MBDA Sea Venom : les tirs de qualif. sont achevés

Il y a une dizaine de jours, les équipes de MBDA ont réalisé le dernier tir de qualification du missile antinavire Sea Venom/ANL sur le site d'essai DGA de l'Ile du Levant.

Le missile Sea Venom/ANL qualifié

Réalisé le 17 novembre dernier, cet ultime tir de qualification du missile Sea Venom/ANL de MBDA avait pour but de valider les performances du missile en termes "de discrimination de cible en environnement naval dense et complexe". "Les essais précédents avaient permis de tester le domaine de séparation et de tir, le vol rasant à basse altitude, ainsi que les modes d'engagement du missile, tels que l'accrochage après tir (LOAL), l'accrochage avant tir (LOBL), l'opérateur dans la boucle ou encore la sélection du point d'impact", rappelle MBDA.

Premiers essais sur hélicoptère Lynx

Les premiers essais avaient commencé en 2017 sur un hélicoptère Lynx Mk 8 de la Royal Navy. Des essais d'embarquement et de largage du Sea Venom/ANL. Puis en avril 2018, avait suivi un tir depuis un hélicoptère Airbus Panther "avec vol du missile à très basse altitude et accrochage de la cible en milieu de course ». "La conduite de ce tir anti-navires a permis de mettre en lumière la capacité du missile à naviguer « au raz de l'eau (sea-skiming) et le bon fonctionnement de la liaison de données entre le missile et l'hélicoptère », avait alors précisé le Ministère des Armées. Puis, en fin d'année 2018, s'était déroulé un nouveau tir d'essai qui avait permis "de confirmer la capacité d'accrochage avant tir du Sea Venom-ANL, l'opérateur utilisant les images provenant de l'autodirecteur à infrarouge du missile pour désigner la cible avant le tir". L'essai s'est déroulé au centre d'essai de l'Ile du Levant depuis un hélicoptère d'essai Dauphin de la DGA.

Premier tir de qualif. en février dernier

Le premier tir de qualification du missile sur l'Ile du Levant au centre d'essais de missiles de la Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) a été effectué en février 2020. "Le missile a été tiré depuis un hélicoptère Dauphin de DGA Essais en vol progressant à une altitude proche de la hauteur minimale nécessaire au lancement du missile, ce dernier atteignant sa vitesse de croisière alors qu'il effectuait un vol rasant (sea-skimming). Pendant la dernière phase du vol, l'opérateur a utilisé les images provenant de l'autodirecteur à infrarouge –transmises par la liaison de données- du missile pour ajuster le point d'accrochage sur la cible. Le missile a ensuite suivi le point désigné jusqu'à atteindre la cible avec une précision extrême", indiquait alors MBDA.

Le missile antinavire Sea Venom/ANL, qui équipera bientôt les hélicoptères Wildcat AW159 de la Royal Navy et H160M Guépard de la Marine Nationale, est un programme en coopération réalisé dans le cadre du traité de Lancaster House, conclu entre la France et le Royaume-Uni, il y a eu dix ans ce mois-ci. Le Sea Venom/ANL est également le premier programme à bénéficier pleinement des centres d'excellence franco-britanniques spécialisés dans les technologies des missiles, qui ont été mis en place par le traité de Lancaster House.

https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/missile-mbda-sea-venom-les-tirs-de-qualif-sont-achevs-23912

On the same subject

  • Two French defense heavyweights scoop up Dolphin chip designer

    August 24, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    Two French defense heavyweights scoop up Dolphin chip designer

    By: Pierre Tran PARIS — European missile company MBDA and microchip maker Soitec said Aug. 21 they are acquiring Dolphin Integration, a design firm for low-power chips which has fallen into receivership. The two companies will buy through a joint venture the chip maker, which filed for insolvency July 24. Dolphin Integration has designed chips which are “indispensable” for certain highly classified sectors, including the French nuclear deterrent, a defense source said. MBDA will acquire 40 percent, while Soitec will own 60 percent. MBDA and Soitec will pay a total of some €6 million (U.S. $7 million) to acquire most assets of Dolphin Integration, pay some of the liabilities and inject a significant amount of cash to meet working capital requirements, the companies said. Further details of how the acquisition amount will be shared were not immediately available. All the business and staff will be kept on, but the sale price will not cover all amounts owed to creditors, Dolphin Integration said in an Aug. 21 statement. MBDA is a strategic customer of Dolphin Integration for defense applications since 2004, the missile company said. The acquisition will strengthen its industrial collaboration and long-term commercial pipeline for application specific integrated circuit and system-on-chip products, the company added. “With the support of MBDA, Dolphin Integration will be able to advance its positions in aerospace and defense design,” the missile company said. Other key clients include Airbus Defence & Space, Safran and Thales, besides MBDA, the defense source said. Soitec specializes in chips drawing on fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology, running on low power and at high speed. The acquisition can be seen as an “offensive” move by securing a market upstream for FD-SOI, while MBDA takes a "defensive " step by protecting a strategic supplier, the defense source said. Soitec played an active role in an industry group which lobbied the Elysée president's office to support a European Project of Common Interest, the source said. Such projects are backed by the European Commission for cross-border work on infrastructure and energy. Soitec will seek to strengthen Dolphin Integration in the semiconductor market, to develop and promote products and services in strategic sectors such as mobile devices and infrastructure, data centers, and space and industrial applications, the chip specialist said. Dolphin Integration had annual sales of €17 million for the year to March 31, 2018 and employs 155 staff, of which 130 are design engineers. The company is based in Grenoble. MBDA's interest in semiconductors has sharpened since the U.S. blocked the sale of American chips for the Scalp cruise missile sought by Egypt to arm its fleet of Rafale fighter jets. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/08/23/two-french-defense-heavyweights-scoop-up-dophin-chip-maker

  • Northrop Grumman To Modernize Cockpit and Mission Solutions for E-2D Advanced Hawkeye

    October 5, 2023 | International, Aerospace

    Northrop Grumman To Modernize Cockpit and Mission Solutions for E-2D Advanced Hawkeye

    E-2 variants are operated by Air Forces and Navies around the world. With an active production line and a 100% on-time delivery history, the E-2D continues to introduce new technology...

  • Lockheed contracts for two solid state radar SPY-7 sets for Aegis Ashore Japan

    November 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Lockheed contracts for two solid state radar SPY-7 sets for Aegis Ashore Japan

    By Christen McCurdy Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday that it has contracted with the Japanese Ministry of Defense to produce two solid state radar antenna sets for Aegis Ashore Japan. The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System is a U.S. program designed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The system is designed to detect, track and engage ballistic missile threats and engage multiple targets simultaneously. The Aegis system was recently designated by the federal government as AN/SPY-7(V)1, and provides several times the detection range and sensitivity of previous Aegis systems. Japan decided to deploy its own Aegis missile defense system in June 2017 and spent $2.15 billion to purchase two Aegis systems at the beginning of this year. Japan's defense minister, Takeshi Iwaya, has argued Japan needs Aegis Ashore for national security. But the program has been controversial. In June, Japan's defense minister admitted the government's decision to deploy the missile defense program, and its chosen locations, had been based on faulty data. Japanese lawmakers and residents of the Akita prefecture, where the interceptors are set to be deployed, have also expressed concerns about the effects of the program's radar on the health of the city's 330,000 residents. Variants of the SPY-7 radar will also be utilized through partnerships with the U.S. Government, Spain and Canada. To date, the technology has been selected for a total of 24 systems. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/11/21/Lockheed-contracts-for-two-solid-state-radar-SPY-7-sets-for-Aegis-Ashore-Japan/5151574361029/

All news