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The French defence procurement agency (DGA) carried out the firing at their Land Techniques Test Centre as part of the JAGUAR qualification. Launched from the retractable pod on the Jaguar’s turret in two-missile configuration, the MMP successfully hit its target.
The integration of MMP onto JAGUAR is being carried out in stages during qualification. This firing is the first stage, successfully demonstrating hitting a fixed target. The system will offer the capability to destroy fixed or mobile hardened land targets, including up to the latest generation of tanks. Targeting will be direct or beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS). It will also be precise and with minimal collateral damage, qualities that characterise the MMP.
MMP’s capabilities integrated into the Jaguar’s turret by Nexter, alongside the remote controlled weapon station developed by Arquus, the Scorpion common vetronics solution developed by Thales and the 40mm cannon developed by CTAI gives the Jaguar a key role in collaborative combat.
During this demonstration, the Optrolead PASEO battlefield surveillance sight interfaced with the missile system, offering real-time optronic acquisition by day and by night. This gives the Jaguar excellent long-range observation and identification capabilities.
Frédéric Michaud, Head of Battlefield Sector for Sales & Business Development at MBDA, said: “This firing marks an important first step of the work conducted with Nexter to develop the Jaguar turret and integrate the MMP into a weapon system built on the latest technological solutions. This two-missile turret configuration considerably expands the vehicle’s firepower.”
David Marquette, Jaguar project manager at Nexter, hailed the exceptional work of the programme team on this critically important system integration project: “This marks a major milestone, demonstrating the technical skills of our teams in designing and developing an operational capability unlike any other in the world.”
Notes
The Scorpion programme aims to renew and modernise the Army's combat capabilities around new platforms and a unified combat information system. Alongside the Griffon multi-role armoured vehicle (VBMR) and the Serval, cavalry units will be supplied with the Jaguar EBRC, to replace their existing AMX10RC, ERC90 and VAB HOT armoured vehicles. The GRIFFON and JAGUAR vehicles are supplied by the Nexter Arquus Thales consortium. They are intended for the French and Belgian ground armies. The Jaguar’s turret is equipped with a 40mm cannon capable of firing telescoped ammunition, an MMP capability, and a remotely operated 7.62mm machine gun. The EBRC displays excellent mobility and enhanced protection, and incorporates latest-generation optronics.
The requirements of collaborative combat on the battlefield real-time information sharing, mutual protection and rapid combat response are met by the Scorpion Combat Information System (SICS) as well as by the new-generation CONTACT1tactical radios and the vetronics architecture common to all Scorpion vehicles.
The MMP missile integration kit developed by MBDA for the Jaguar EBRC can be easily adapted onto other turrets carrying several ready-to-fire missiles. Its ease of implementation allows for very rapid loading and unloading operations
About MBDA
MBDA (mbda-systems.com) is the only European defence group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea andair).
With a significant presence in five European countries and within the USA, in 2020 MBDA achieved revenue of 3.6 billion euros with an order book of 16.6 billion euros. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development.
MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25 %).
Press contact: Clémence GiraudeauMobile, P: +33(0)6 33 39 89 27 - E: clemence.giraudeau[.]mbda-systems.com.
About Nexter
Nexter (nexter-group.fr), a company of KNDS, is the French leader in land defence and the 3rdlargest European ammunition manufacturer. Its field of activity extends to the supply of systems and munitions for air and naval forces. Nexter also provides protection systems and solutions in the field of security. The company’s international growth strategy is bearing fruit, with 69% of its orders in 2019 coming from export customers. In France, Nexter is fully geared to meeting the objectives of the Scorpion programme, through the upgrade of the Leclerc tank, the production of the Griffon VBMR and Jaguar EBRC fighting vehicles as part of a consortium with Arquus and Thales, and the development of the Serval Light VBMR. The KNDS Group achieved a turnover of €2.5 billion in 2019. The group's range of products also includes the VBCI and Titus®armoured vehicles, the Caesar® and 105LG1 artillery systems, smart ammunition (BONUS), NERVA® robots and numerous equipment items as well as customer, support and upgrade services. For more details, see
Press contact: Louis Dosseur, P: +33(0)6 99 72 98 94 - E: l.dosseur[.]nexter-group.fr.
About Arquus
Arquusis a French defence company, and a leader in ground mobility solutions. As a long-standing partner of the Armed Forces, Arquus has nearly 25,000 vehicles of all types in service in the French Army, including 20,000 currently supported by the company. Arquus is taking part in the production of the new generation of Army vehicles, the Griffon VBMR and Jaguar EBRC, produced as part of a defence consortium. In particular, Arquus is responsible for supplying the drivelines and the remotely operated self-defencesystems for these two vehicles. Arquus also provides all the logistics for replacement parts and units for the VBMR and EBRC vehicles in the Scorpion programme through its new logistics platform at Garchizy. As a support specialist, with almost 20,000 vehicles maintained on a daily basis, Arquus offers complete support solutions, based on the company's historical expertise. These solutions rely on an international logistics network supported by the Volvo Group network, of which Arquus is a member. Arquus is an innovative company, investing in major projects such as architecture, survivability, mobility, energy, robotics, weaponisation andsupport. As a complete systems integrator, Arquusalso offers remote-controlled weapon stations (the Hornet range, developed as part of the Scorpion programme), vetronics solutions (Battlenet), and mobility solutions (4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 chassis). Arquus exports to over 60 countries.
Press contact: Marin Tollet, P: +33(0)6 51 00 04 18 - E: marin.tollet[.]arquus-defense.com.
About Thales
Thales (thalesgroup.com) is a global high technology leader investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technology to build a future we can all trust, which is vital to the development of our societies. The Group provides solutions, services and products that help its customers businesses, organisations and states in the defence, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security markets to fulfil their critical missions, by placing humans at the heart of the decision-making process.
Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. The Group generated revenue of €17 billion in 2020.
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