The Italian Navy’s new FREMM EVO frigates will be among the platforms to carry the new deep strike Teseo anti-ship missile being supplied by MBDA.
As per a recent company press statement, MBDA has now signed a production contract with the National Directorate of Naval Armaments for the production of the new Teseo MK2/E anti-ship missile.
As well as the new FREMM EVO frigates, the new weapon will eventually be deployed on the Italian Navy’s new PPA Multi-Purpose Combat Ships and on its new generation DDX destroyers.
The new missile will work in tandem with the previous MK2/A version already in service on the FREMM and Horizon-class naval vessels.
The new missile features an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) seeker and cruises at high subsonic speeds. It has sea-skimming capabilities, a range of almost 200 miles, can be controlled in flight via a satellite data link, and can be used against sea or land targets.
MBDA’s Executive Group Director of Sales & Business Development and Managing Director of MBDA Italy Lorenzo Mariani commented: “I am particularly proud of the signing of this contract, which confirms the success of a process led in full synergy with our Navy.”
He added: “Starting the production of TESEO MK2/E demonstrates not only that the product is mature and fully compliant with the Navy’s requirements, but also that it perfectly complements MBDA’s portfolio, adding a new benchmark capability in the anti-ship domain, to be offered to foreign markets as well.”
- You can read more details on on the MBDA website