MBDA Naval Cruise Missile Conducts Final Qualification Flight

The Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) conducted a successful final qualification flight of the MBDA naval cruise missile, with a launch from a ground-based site at the Biscarosse test center, the procurement office said in a statement.

The missile is designed to strike high-value protected sites from long range, a DGA spokesman told journalists. Additional test firings will be conducted from the French Navy’s FREMM frigate after the missile is fitted to the warship next year.


The final qualification firing Monday was similar to a launch from a frigate and met requirements for the weapon’s range, the DGA said. The missile is a naval version of the air-launched Scalp-Storm Shadow weapon and will arm the FREMM multimission frigate in 2015 and the Barracuda attack submarine in 2018. The DGA awarded MBDA the contract for the naval missile in 2006.