MBDA has successfully completed the second test firing of the Marte extended range (ER) anti-ship missile.
The test-firing marked a critical milestone in the process of missile development. It was conducted at the PISQ (Poligono Interforze del Salto di Quirra) test range in Sardinia.
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It included testing of a range of features and functionalities of the missile compared to the maiden test firing launched in November 2018 in Italy.
The additional systems tested include a proximity fly-over fuse with weapon controller, an integrated navigation system, and an actuation system in advanced configuration.
MBDA Seeker Division has also engineered and developed an innovative terminal guidance system for the missile.
The missile system was put through several major manoeuvres, including a demonstration of very low sea-skimming at very high speed.
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By GlobalDataAfter travelling a distance of 100km, the floating target was hit with an ‘almost zero’ miss distance.
MBDA said in a statement: “Hitting the target confirmed the perfect behaviour of the missile and the telemetry system recorded a huge amount of data. Flight data showed very good alignment with simulation outcomes.”
“The Marte ER programme is progressing at full speed in order to meet customers’ requirements and the full integration of Marte ER on the Eurofighter Typhoon platform is proceeding at pace in order to implement an anti-ship capability onto the fighter.”
The missile is derived from the company’s Mk2/S variant. It weighs 315kg and is 3.6m-long.
