MBDA Akeron LP missile to arm Eurodrone

Seen at the ILA Berlin Air Show in June, a mock-up of the Eurodrone was equipped with general bombs and air-to-surface missiles that the French DGA has said will be the GBU-49 and Akeron LP, respectively. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

The MBDA Akeron LP missile has been selected to equip the Eurodrone medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The French Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) procurement agency made the announcement on 6 October, saying that the Missile Haut de Trame (MHT), as the Akeron LP was previously known in France, will complement the GBU-49 precision-guided bombs as the Eurodrone's weapons package.

As noted by the DGA in its announcement, the selection of the Akeron for the Eurodrone comes weeks after the air-to-surface missile was chosen to equip the Airbus Tiger Mk III attack helicopter in June.

Described by MBDA as “a unique family of fifth-generation tactical combat missiles”, the Akeron series comprises MBDA's previously named Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) anti-tank missile now renamed Akeron MP, as well as the MHT (which itself was known by the moniker Missile Longue Portée [MLP]) long-range missile now renamed Akeron LP.

The Akeron LP is a ‘fire-and-forget' missile that can be employed against a range of fixed or mobile land targets, including hardened or defensive fighting positions, tanks, and/or dismounted infantry. It features low collateral multi-effect warheads (anti-tank, anti-infrastructure, anti-personnel), datalinks, and multimode guidance algorithms based on [artificial intelligence] techniques, and has a range of more than 15 km when fired from altitude.