A Panther test helicopter of the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French defence procurement agency, conducted the second successful test firing of the MBDA Sea Venom/Missile Antinavire Léger (ANL) light anti-ship missile on 18 April, the European missile house and DGA announced on 30 May.
A DGA Panther helicopter conducted the second successful test firing of a Sea Venom/ANL missile off the Ile Du Levant in southeastern France on 18 April.Photo by: DGA
The firing demonstrated the Sea Venom/ANL’s lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) capabilities. MBDA said it also validated the missile's low-altitude, sea-skimming flight capabilities, the effectiveness of the datalink between the missile and the helicopter, and Sea Venom/ANL’s autonomous guidance capability, using images from its infrared seeker.
The Sea Venom/ANL is a lightweight fire-and-forget subsonic missile with an operator-above-the-loop capability to control the entire missile trajectory.
janes.com