The second test firing of the Hard and Deeply Buried Target (HARDBUT) Next Generation Multiple Warhead System (NGMWS) was carried out successfully at the French Biscarrosse test range of the Direction Generale de l’Armement’s (DGA) Essais de Missiles on Sept. 14.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence and the French DGA jointly fund the successful warhead research program, the HARDBUT Technology Demonstration Program (TDP).
MBDA UK is the prime contractor. MBDA is jointly held by BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica. MBDA teams in the United Kingdom K and in France with Thales Missile Electronics (TME), QinetiQ, BAE Global Combat Systems Munitions (GCSM) and Fluid Gravity Engineering (FGE).
The NGMWS is designed to defeat a wide range of targets such as command and control facilities, infrastructure and underground facilities including caves, reflecting current and potential future operations.
The firing was carried out using a representative missile airframe on the long rocket sled test track at Biscarrosse. The live Precursor Charge (PC) was detonated just in front of the massive concrete target and the inert Follow-Through Bomb (FTB) penetrated through and exited the rear face of the target, demonstrating a penetration capability significantly in excess of any warhead currently produced by MBDA.
The trial was also designed to assess the robustness of the compact Ruggedized Electronic In-line Fuze (REIF), which will incorporate embedded smart fuzing algorithms. The target and trial set-up were designed to be operationally representative.
This trial builds upon the successful first trial conducted May 18 at the Biscarrosse test range where the novel concepts underpinning the NGMWS design were successfully demonstrated.
The second successful test represents the successful conclusion of the second stage of this TDP, proving the warhead concept and enhancing MBDA’s world leading capability in warhead design. A third and final proving trial will conclude the TDP research objectives.