Eurofighter Typhoon to Get MBDA Marte-ER Anti-Ship Missile Capability

: Posted On Monday, 09 November 2015 20:52

Naval Defense Industry News - Eurofighter Typhoon & Marte-ER

Eurofighter Typhoon to Get MBDA Marte-ER Anti-Ship Missile Capability

While attending the 2015 Dubai Air Show, Navy Recognition learned that the Eurofighter is set to get an ASuW (anti-surface warfare) capability with MBDA's Marte-ER. The information was revelaed by Programme’s Capability Manager, Paul Smith, a former UK RAF Pilot and Fighter Weapons School Instructor.

Weapons fit check of 6x MBDA Marte-ER anti-ship missiles on a Typhoon. Picture: MBDA

Up to six Marte-ER may be fitted on the Typhoon. The more likely fit however would consist in four of the anti-ship missile plus fuel tanks. A video simulation (see below) was shown during the press briefing to demonstrate the Typhoon's expected ASuW capability with the Marte-ER.

Navy Recognition learned during the event that a Typhoon with Marte-ER payload would be limited to subsonic speeds.

Video: Eurofighter / MBDA

The Marte missile family
The all-weather Marte MK2 is a fire-and-forget, medium-range, sea-skimming anti-ship weapon system. It is equipped with mid-course inertial and radar-based terminal guidance and is capable of destroying small craft and seriously damaging larger vessels. The missile weighs 310 kg and is 3.85 metres long. Marte was first developed in the 1980s with the 30km range MK/2 version being deployed on helicopters. Subsequent models followed for integration on different platforms and thus a family of missiles came into being.

The Marte MK-2/S, where “S” stands for “Short” and indicates shorter munitions in order to enable simpler on board integration, has already been integrated on AW101 and NH-90 NFH helicopters in service with the Italian Navy. The Marte MK-2/A was then developed for launch from fixed-wing aircraft (fighter or patrol aircraft). Finally, in response to the growing interest for a lightweight, rapid-response surface-to-surface naval missile system for littoral operations, Marte MK2/N was developed.

This new version of the missile meets the operational requirements of engaging targets well beyond the radar horizon. The Marte ER missile uses many of the technologies and has a great commonality with the standard Marte MK2 missile with the main difference lying in the turbo-engine propulsion system that provides a much greater effective range. Also suitable for fixed wing platforms such as MPAs and combat jets, the ER version is able to engage the same target set as the Marte MK2 but at ranges well in excess of 100 km, allowing the launch aircraft to stay at a safe stand-off distance for added platform and crew survivability.