MBDA Oct. 21 said it completed the firing campaign Oct. 15 to validate the series production of the Milan ER missile, as jointly scheduled with export customers.
MBDA will now be able to finalize the production work and deliver the first units in the spring next year, as planned.
Four successful firings against fixed and moving targets confirmed the performance capabilities of the firing post, the missile and the warhead, the company said in a statement.
This final technical step follows the qualification of the Milan ER weapon system that was achieved during the first half of 2014.
MBDA used its own funds to develop the Milan ER system, which offers the operational characteristics of the Milan family of missiles, which are currently used by the armed forces of about 40 countries worldwide. It also features latest-generation technologies with a strongly extended range, a highly powerful warhead and a fully digital firing post.
The system is already chosen by three export customers and is attracting growing interest among armed forces that require a highly efficient missile at a highly competitive acquisition and life-cycle cost.
MBDA CEO Antoine Bouvier said: “The Milan ER missile is of particular importance to us, owing to the long performance lineage it clearly embodies, but also because this very attractive system allows MBDA to maintain a business and technical presence in a great number of countries, all of which are prospective customers for higher-end products.”
MBDA is jointly held by Airbus Group and BAE Systems
with 37.5 percent each and Finmeccanica with 25 percent.