Exocet missile

Exocet

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Exocet
An AM39 aircraft-launched Exocet
Type	Anti-ship missile
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1979
Used by	See operators
Production history
Designer	1967-1970: Nord Aviation 1970-1974: Aérospatiale
Designed	1967
Manufacturer	1979-1999: Aérospatiale 1999-2001: Aérospatiale-Matra 2001-present: MBDA
Produced	1974
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

The Exocet (French for "flying fish") is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

Etymology

The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director at Nord Aviation. It is the French word for flying fish from the Latin name exocoetus, a transliteration of the Greek name for flying fish ἐξώκοιτος (exōkoitos), which literally means "lying down outside (ἒξω, κεῖμαι), sleeping outside" because it sometimes stranded itself in boats.

Description

Exocet missile launch

 

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.^[3]

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 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, the Swedish RBS-15 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 turbojet 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 land-attack 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.