Successful firing of MBDA’s STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG long

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author : Carol Reed
On 3rd December 2004, a French Navy Rafale MO2 combat aircraft took off from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and carried out a highly successful firing of MBDA’s STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG long-range cruise missile.

Having landed on the aircraft carrier as part of a convoy the day before, the Rafale took off and headed for the firing zone located in the Gulf of Gascogny in the Atlantic. Released from the Rafale’s centre line station at 20,000 ft and at a speed of Mach 0.8, the STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG missile followed its pre-programmed flight trajectory over the sea and land areas of the CELM (Centre d’Essais des Landes) range towards its designated target.

During the cruise phase, STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG was guided by its combined navigation system (inertial guidance, GPS and infra red imaging terrain profile matching) before hitting the target with extreme precision. In fact the difference between the intended and actual impact points on the target turned out to be lower than the metric accuracy tolerance specified for the missile system.

Commenting on the firing, MBDA Chief Executive Officer Marwan Lahoud said: “This latest result for STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG is a confirmation of the success of the programme, highlighting both the high level of multi- national cooperation involved and the skills of MBDA in advancing the capabilites of Europe’s armed forces. We would never have managed this success in the envisaged timeframe had it not been for the cooperation of all involved: the French Navy and Air Force, the DGA (Délégation Générale pour l’Armement) and the Royal Air Force. The excellence and commitment of the MBDA teams working on the programme has also been of the highest order”.

This latest success for STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG marks the end of the Rafale integration programme and concludes a highly successful year for MBDA’s cruise missile systems (six STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG’s and one APACHE fired from the Mirage 2000 and Rafale).

Qualified on the Tornado GR4, Mirage 2000 and the Rafale, STORM SHADOW / SCALP EG is now in full production with over 600 missiles having already been delivered to various customers. The system has been selected by the UK, France, Italy and Greece.

Notes to Editors

With an annual turnover exceeding € 2 billion, a forward order book of over
€14 billion and over 70 customers world wide, MBDA is a world leading, global missile systems company. MBDA currently has 45 missile system and countermeasure programmes in operational service and has proven its ability as prime contractor to head major multi-national projects.
MBDA is jointly owned by BAE SYSTEMS (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and FINMECCANICA (25%).

Pictures: Rafale M-02 during early carrier trials. MBDA apache/Scalp/Storm Shadow mounted on central hard point of a Rafale M.
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