Marte ER anti-ship missile aces first firing

The MBDA-developed Marte ER anti-ship missile has successfully completed its first firing, the French company has said.

The missile passed this major phase in its development in a trial that was carried out on November 9 in an Italian test range.

According to MBDA, the Marte ER missile flew for more than 100 km on a planned trajectory that included several waypoints and sea skimming flight, successfully testing all flying phases.

“This test is a further confirmation of the robustness of the ER version of the Marte family of multi-platform anti-ship missiles that can be launched by ships, helicopters, coastal batteries and fast jets,” Pasquale Di Bartolomeo, MBDA Italia managing director, commented:

“The Marte family has a strong and successful history both at domestic and international levels: most recently with Marte ER being ordered earlier in 2018 by the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) for their new NH90 helicopters.”

MBDA also noted that the missile is on track to be integrated on the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft after it completed the 18 months system definition phase.