Enhanced Eryx missile scores evaluation success

An enhanced version of the MBDA Eryx short-range infantry fire-support weapon scored a 100 per cent hit rate over eight firings on its first international evaluation in October 2009, leading to its first order from an undisclosed Middle East country.

Four of the eight demonstration firings were carried out at night with the aid of a new thermal sight, mounted on the Eryx firing post. The new sight, part of the company-funded enhancement programme, which began in 2007, has an uncooled, long-wave infrared (8-12 µm) microbolometer with a 320x240 pixel focal plane array, in place of the original cooled detector. This makes the new thermal sight totally silent. Without a cooling engine, the new sight is also lighter with increased reliability and lower power consumption.

Although earlier generations of uncooled detectors were less sensitive than cooled models, detector material and processing is improving to the extent that MBDA claims the uncooled sight provides an augmented range for detection, reconnaissance and identification, which significantly exceeds the range of the Eryx missile. According to Jane's Infantry Weapons , Eryx has a range of up to 600 m.