Airbus Military, MBDA Successfully Demo Marte Mk2/S Anti-Ship Missile Under C295 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Airbus Military and MBDA have successfully demonstrated the Marte MK2/S anti-ship inert missile installed under the wing of a C295 maritime patrol aircraft, which has already been tested on the Airborne Early Warning & Command (AEW) version.

The flight was the last of a series of trials performed in a joint Airbus Military – MBDA collaboration to validate the aerodynamic integration of the Marte on C295, its handling qualities and performance tests.                      

The MBDA Marte MK2/S missile is a fire-and-forget, all-weather, medium-range sea-skimming anti-ship weapon system, equipped with inertial mid-course guidance and radar homing terminal guidance, and capable of destroying small vessels and heavily damaging major vessels. The missile weighs at 310 kg and is 3.85 m long.

Inspired by the preliminary version of the MK2/A, the Marte was born with the helicopter version of the MK2/S in 2006 on the AW 101 and was designed to equip in fast jet aircraft and light combat vehicle.

Unlike its original version which maintained the mechanical and electrical interfaces with the platform and the same vertical separation concept, the MK2/S allows the two accelerations to reduce in thrust because the firing speed of the aircraft has the same order of magnitude as the cruise speed of the missile.

This separation will be achieved by a launcher, by releasing and pushing the missile downwards during firing sequences.  This will lead to vertical velocity of some meter per seconds.

Marte MK/2S has significant installation advantages. The weapon does not require any specific sensors and its lightweight compact size, together with its flexible configuration, make it adaptable to a wide range of air platforms.

Marte MK2/S is optimized to operate in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and to engage a wide range of targets from FIACs to frigates in low-intensity naval conflicts.

Marte Mk2/S is already integrated on the AW-101 and the NFH (Naval NH90) helicopters in service with the Italian Navy and integration activities for the Marte ER on the Eurofighter Typhoon are currently underway.