Exocet Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile made in various versions capable of being launched from surface ships and boats, submarines, and airplanes. It has been extensively used in combat from the 1980s onwards. The name comes from a French word for flying fish.
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The Exocet missile is built by European company MBDA's division Aérospatiale (who were also the French arm of the Anglo-French team that built the Concorde.) It is one of the most successful Surface to Surface / Air to Surface missiles currently in service. Development began in 1967, as a ship launched missile named MM 38. The air launched Exocet was developed in 1974 and entering service with the French Navy in 1979.
The missile was designed to engage large warships. It is 4.7 m in length, and has a wingspan of 1.1 m, a mass of 670 kg, and a 165 kg warhead. Guidance in the mid-flight phase is inertial, followed by active radar seeking to acquire its target. The solid propellant engine gives the Exocet a maximum range of 65 km. The submarine-launched version places the missile and a Narval booster motor within a launch capsule.
The Exocet has been manufactured in a number of versions, including:
Description
The chief competitor to the Exocet is the American AGM-84 Harpoon.
In 1982, during the Falklands war, air-launched Exocets were used successfully by Argentinian forces against the British destroyer HMS Sheffield (4th May) and support ship Atlantic Conveyor (25th May); both sank. A surface-launched Exocet damaged HMS Glamorgan. The Exocet that struck the Sheffield failed to explode but the impact of the missile travelling at 315 m/s and laden with unburnt rocket fuel was enough to set the ship ablaze.
Although the loss of the Sheffield was a blow to British self-esteem, the missile used earned itself a curious kind of respect, and the word "an Exocet" passed into British colloquial use to mean "a devastating attack". It is still occasionally heard, and would be widely understood, today.
Iraq successfully used the air-launched version against Iranian shipping during the Iran-Iraq War and later against the US Navy Guided missile frigate USS Stark (FFG-31) (an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate). The Stark was heavily damaged but saved by the crew and sent back for repairs.
The Exocet is currently in service with France, Germany, Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Singapore, South Africa, Brazil, Oman, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar and Peru. It also served with the Royal Navy until the last Exocet armed surface vessel was decommissioned in 2002.
This is an Article on Exocet. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Exocet History
Operators