By Ludovic Dumont, MBDA India General Delegate
New Delhi. 06 December 2024. MBDA is proud to celebrate Indian Navy Day 2024, another milestone in a long partnership with the Indian Navy, ensuring Indian sailors are always equipped with the highest performing missile systems.
From anti-ship missiles, to air defence systems, and the latest in naval aviation weaponry, MBDA has supported the Indian Navy for decades and is committed to continuing to do so today and into the future.
Operational capability and sovereignty are vital factors for the Indian Navy and MBDA is proud to be a partner in deliver both. That is why MBDA has strongly committed to Atmanirbhar Bharat and to deliver Make in India projects with the level of investment made for both industrial sovereignty and the best of equipment to ensure India’s maritime superiority.
The company has an exceptional record of accomplishment providing both operational and industrial capabilities in partnership with the Indian armed forces and Indian defence industry. The strength of these two pillars makes it a long-term true partnership, and one that should only get stronger. The partnerships MBDA has formed with Indian industry have seen over 50,000 MBDA-designed missiles produced in India – a noteworthy success.
To deliver Make in India programmes to support the laudable Atmanirbhar Bharat effort, MBDA has formed a joint venture with long-standing partner Larsen and Toubro – L&T MBDA Missile Systems Ltd. With an active facility in Coimbatore working on missiles and missile launchers, L&T MBDA Missile Systems Ltd is already delivering towards its goal of becoming India’s number one private sector missile systems firm. The company is also working to deliver new important missile programmes under the ‘Make in India’ category to provide new enhancements for the Indian Navy’s fighting potency.
Naval aviation weaponry
The Indian Navy has a long history of operating MBDA-designed aircraft weapons, including systems such as the Magic air to air missile and the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile. MBDA will also provide the full spectrum of missile systems to meet all the arming requirements of naval fighter aircraft.
With the Rafale selected by the Indian Navy as a carrier launched fighter, MBDA is also offering to bring the world-beating Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, MICA air combat missile and the air launched AM39 Exocet into Indian Navy service. The ramjet powered and network-enabled Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile is widely recognised as a game changer for air combat and would provide a major boost to the Indian Naval Air Arm. Meteor’s throttleable ramjet engine provides sustained high-supersonic power, making it the only missile able to chase down manoeuvring enemies at even the longest of ranges.
Another MBDA weapon, MICA provides the Rafale with a uniquely flexible approach to air combat. MICA is the only missile in the world featuring two interoperable seekers (active radar and imaging infrared) makes MICA highly countermeasure resistant and therefore highly effective. Meanwhile the world-renowned air launched AM39 Exocet requires no further introduction.
Naval air defence
The first bid submitted by L&T MBDA Missile Systems Ltd to the Indian Armed Forces is for the Indian Navy. The JV’s offer of Sea Ceptor, the next generation of naval air defence system, is in response to the Indian Navy’s Short-Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) requirement.
Sea Ceptor is an extremely high-performing air defence system capable of defeating the most challenging of air threats. Using new advanced technologies, Sea Ceptor provides complete protection against all known and projected air targets including saturation attacks across 360° simultaneously.
Utilising the CAMM missile, which features a next-generation all-weather fully active RF-seeker, two-way datalink and soft-vertical launch system, Sea Ceptor provides a major increase in performance compared with previous generation systems protecting India’s vessels from attacks.
Sea Ceptor protects both the ship armed with the system and enables that ship to protect other vessels, including high-value assets such as aircraft carriers. The weapon system can defeat the full range of current and future threats, including combat aircraft and the new generation of sea-skimming supersonic anti-ship missiles attacking from multiple directions simultaneously.
This next-generation air defence system provides easy platform integration on new and existing ships thanks to its fully active architecture, and many space, weight and safety benefits when compared with older systems.
Sea Ceptor is the most high-performance and modern air defence system on the market today and has been by chosen by several navies, including the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Chile and Brazil.
Anti-ship capabilities
The world-renowned, and operationally proven, EXOCET missile has always led the way, as the West’s first, long-range anti-ship missile with ‘fire and forget’ and skimming flight capabilities. During that time, over 30 nations have equipped themselves with EXOCET, and its continual development has kept it at the leading edge of anti-ship capability.
The EXOCET family of missiles comprises a range of standoff “fire and forget” stealthy missiles, with skimming flight, for engaging high-value naval targets. They have the flexibility of launching from all maritime platforms; surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and coastal batteries.
The Indian Navy’s newest Kalvari-class submarines are today equipped with the advanced, submarine-launched version of EXOCET – SM39 – to protect India’s interests. A submarine launches EXOCET SM39 enclosed in a capsule known as a VSM (Véhicule Sous Marin). The VSM, a self-propelled and guided container, manoeuvres before surfacing so as not to reveal the position of the submarine. Once in the air, the EXOCET missile leaves the VSM and proceeds to the target like a normal variant of the missile.
EXOCET has an ‘Over the Horizon’ firing capability and a range of other operational benefits including low signature, late seeker activation, sea skimming at very low altitude, enhanced target discrimination and ECCM, and high penetrative power against modern naval air defences.
As the Indian Armed Forces already operate SM39, part of the EXOCET family, it is a logical step to use EXOCET in other operational areas. In doing so, it provides significant operational, logistical and training advantages.
The latest generation of the surface-to-surface variant in this family of missiles – EXOCET MM40 Block3 – has a significantly extended operational range, making the weapon featuring open ocean, littoral and coastal land attack capabilities. It is available for surface ships and coastal batteries.
Commitment to ‘Make in India’
MBDA is proud that the company’s business in India has always focused on forming partnerships at the deepest level. As mentioned, not just with the armed forces but also with industry. Local firms now supply key components for key new missiles that are enhancing Indian armed forces. MBDA continues to deepen its relationship with Indian industry. This commitment has seen MBDA involved in the transfer of technology and the production of products and components with the state-owned DPSUs (Defence Public Sector Undertakings) as well as with the establishment of very close partnerships with the Indian private sector including large companies and SMEs.
A recent example of this is the recent agreement signed with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) of India for the final assembly, integration and test (FAIT) of ASRAAM missiles in India. MBDA has a long and highly successful history of working with BDL over the past 50 years it has done business in India, and this latest step builds the foundations for further new and exciting joint opportunities.
The MoU signing is in addition to the previously mentioned Joint Venture (JV) Company ‘L&T MBDA Missile Systems Ltd’. Larsen & Toubro (L&T), India’s multinational engineering conglomerate and private sector defence major, own 51% of the company and MBDA, 49%. Both JV partners have a proven record of accomplishment as trusted suppliers to the Indian Armed Forces – providing critical weapon systems and defence solutions across land, sea and air domains.
The decision to formalise this partnership was a key milestone for both L&T and MBDA in their long-term relationship, was made after extensive evaluation and identifying the strong synergy between the two organisations. L&T and MBDA have collaborated on co-development and production of major subsystems involving complex technologies and sophisticated weapon systems.
Operating from a dedicated work centre, which includes integration and final checkout facilities. Registered in India the JV conducts business as an Indian Company, subject to Indian laws.
The JV offers the Indian Armed Forces the flexibility of choice regarding the timely acquisition of key operational capabilities, coupled with the optimised means of acquiring and mastering the very latest and most advanced guided weapon systems technology currently available anywhere in the world.
