MissileThreat.com

Country:	France
Class:	SLCM
Target:	Ship
Length:	4.69 m
Diameter:	0.35 m
Launch Weight:	655.00 kg
Payload:	165 kg HE, fragmentation
Propulsion:	Solid
Range:	50.00 km
Guidance:	INS, active radar
Status:	Operational
In Service:	1985-Present
Exported:	Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, South Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocc, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Sauda Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, T

Details

The SM-39 Exocet is a short-range, solid propellant, single warhead, submarine-launched cruise missile developed and manufactured by France. Several hundred were fired in combat during the Falklands conflict and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

 

France initially designed the Exocet (“Flying Fish” in French) family of cruise missiles to attack and destroy large warships. The SM-39, on which development began in 1979, is the submarine-launched version of the AM-39. It is currently deployed on the “Le Triumphant,” “L’Inflexible,” “Rubris,” and “Agosta” class submarines.

 

The Exocet family of missiles are all the same basic shape, the only differences being the length and wing shape. The SM-39 has four delta-shaped wings at mid-body, and four delta-shaped control fins at the rear. The missile is 4.69 m long, 0.35 m in body diameter, and has a launch weight of 655 kg. It carries a high explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 165 kg. The SM-39 is stored in a launch container along with propulsion and guidance units. The entire module, designated VSM “Vehicule Sous-Marin,” is fired from standard torpedo 533 millimeter launch tubes. The missile and VSM together weigh 1,345 kg. After breaking the surface, the SM-39 separates from the VSM at a low altitude of about 30 m.

 

The SM-39 then stabilizes in the direction of its target at its first cruising altitude, low enough to avoid detection by its target yet high enough to allow its active radar seeker head to acquire the target. Midcourse guidance is by an inertial navigation system (INS) and a radio altimeter, allowing the missile to fly a sea-skimming trajectory to its target. The SM-39 descends to its second cruise altitude for the terminal phase, with a final approach at an altitude determined by prevailing sea conditions, sometimes as low as 3 m. Terminal guidance is provided by an active radar. The SM-39 is reported to have a maximum range of 50 km.

 

Development of the SM-39 was completed in 1984 and the missile entered service the following year. The missile was upgraded in the early 1990s, which gave it the ability to fly at a lower altitude of 2 to 3 m and make preprogrammed maneuvers. It also has an improved discrimination capability among multiple targets, decoys, and coastal features.

 

France has manufactured a total of 3,300 Exocet family missiles. Sources indicate that 140 SM-39 missiles have been built, with the SM-39 Block 2 missiles still in production. France has offered the SM-39 for export, and in 1995 Pakistan ordered a number of missiles for use on its Khalid (Agosta) class submarines. Pakistan test launched the SM-39 for the first time in March 2001.(1)

 

 

 

 

Footnotes

 

1. Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 45 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, July 2006), pp. 44-46; MBDA, “Exocet SM39,” available at http://www.mbda.net/mbda/site/FO/scripts/siteFO_contenu.php?lang=EN&noeu_id=109, accessed on November 8, 2006; Andrew Rathmell, “Threats to the Gulf-Part 1,” Jane’s Intelligence Review, March 1, 1995; “Exocet missiles add a new dimension to Cyprus tension,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, April 15, 1995; James Bruce, “Armour, SAMs, and Exocets,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, April 3, 1996; “Greece orders 27 Exocet MM 40s,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, September 1, 2000; J.A.C. Lewis, “French deal will furnish navy with new Exocet variant,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, February 11, 2004; “Royal Brunei Navy fires Exocets during exercise,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, September 28, 2006.