Four years after launching its self-funded development of its Multi Purpose Combat Vehicle (MPCV), MBDA signed a contract with an export customer for whom MBDA will be integrating this air defense system’s turrets, missile launchers and firing controls onto the high mobility armoured vehicles chosen by the military user, the company said.
The new MPCVs will be integrated within the customer’s existing air defense architecture, which is based on already in-service systems deploying MBDA’s Mistral missile, the company said in a Feb. 21 statement. MPCV will add a number of inherent qualities such as its fire power, reactivity, its protection of personnel as well as its operational coverage.
Final qualification of the MPCV system was achieved in 2010 after a series of test firings, the company said. These tests culminated with a firing demonstration against a number of targets representing a saturating air attack. Various overseas delegations witnessed this demonstration that took place at the France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement missile test firing center at Biscarosse in the Landes region of France. The first series production MPCV vehicle should be delivered as of 2013.
MBDA CEO Antoine Bouvier said: “The MPCV program illustrates how MBDA can optimize the investments already made by its customers. Starting from the base of a market standard such as Mistral missile of which some 17,000 have already been produced, we have devised an easy to use and highly automated system which significantly increases the capabilities of the missiles already in service with our customers.”
MBDA is jointly held by BAE Systems, European Aeronautic Defence and Space, each with 37.5 percent and Finmeccanica with 25 percent.