MBDA expects to start a risk reduction programme by the end of the year for a ship- and submarine-launched version of its Scalp EG/Storm Shadow long-range stand-off precision munition.

Funding for the 30-month programme will be provided by the French defence ministry which is seeking the system for its FMM next generation multirole frigates and Barracuda submarines.

The French Government has declared the warships and the Scalp Navale as its future force projection capability. FMM is due to enter service in late-2008 with the submarine following in 2013. Italy has already declared its interest in a naval version.

Luc Boureau, MBDA director of business development stand-off weapons, says a full development programme for Scalp Navale could start in 2005-6.

Scalp Navale will use existing Scalp EG systems installed in a new airframe, as the low-observable design used for the air-launched missile could not be fired through a torpedo tube or a modified version of the Sylver vertical launcher. A vertical launch trial could take place in 2004.

Scalp Navale would have a 400-600km range depending on the type of flight profile, compared with the Scalp EG's 250km-plus. Flight controls and mission planning for overland terrain-following flight would be the same as the air-launched weapon, although development is required for over-water flight.

Boureau says the Barracuda will have NATO-standard 535mm (21in) diameter torpedo tubes. This defines the size of Scalp Navale within its underwater launch canister, which protects the missile as it is fired through the torpedo tube and as it travels through the water and breaks the surface.

The missile will be equipped with pop-out fins and the wing will have to be mounted within the fuselage rather than on top as with the Scalp EG. The engine intake will likely drop down from the missile's underside. Windtunnel tests of intake configurations have already been undertaken.

Boureau says a key technology to be developed is the booster, which MBDA is planning to make common for the vertical launch and submarine-launched variants. The booster will have to push over the missile from vertical to horizontal flight for the ship-launch and will propel the weapon through the water, breaking the surface and carrying the Scalp to flight altitudes for a submarine firing.

Source: Flight International