Perseus (missile)

CVS401 Perseus (Concept)
An artist's depiction of the Perseus hypersonic multi-role cruise missile concept study. Alongside it are its two effectors which have been released from the lateral bays of the parent missile. It is unlikely that the Perseus concept will be developed further for the FC/ASW program.
Type	Air-launched cruise missile Anti-ship cruise missile Land-attack missile Submarine-launched cruise missile
Place of origin	France United Kingdom Italy
Production history
Manufacturer	MBDA
Specifications
Mass	800 kg (1,800 lb)
Length	5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Warhead	A 200 kg main warhead with an additional 2 x 40–50kg inertially guided effectors from lateral bays.
Engine	Ramjet motor.
Operational range	Unknown
Flight altitude	Two types of attack profile are envisioned: A high-altitude approach, or a sea-skimming low-altitude approach followed by a pop-up.
Maximum speed	Mach 5[1][N 1][dead link]
Guidance system	A multimode active e-scan radar and a laser radar. Also features a semi-active laser guidance capability.
Launch platform	Ship, submarine or aircraft.

The FC/ASW ("Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon"), FMAN/FMC ("Futur missile anti-navire/Futur missile de croisière" in French), FOSW ("Future Offensive Surface Weapon") or SPEAR 5 is a new generation missile programme launched by France and the United Kingdom in 2017 to succeed their jointly-developed Storm Shadow/SCALP as well as their respective Exocet and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.^[2][3][4][5] Equally funded by both countries, the project is led by European missile manufacturer MBDA and is a product of the close defence relationship set out between both nations by the Lancaster House treaties.^[6] In June 2023, it was announced Italy would be joining the program and began providing funding in November.^[7][8]

In 2017, an agreement for the launch of a concept phase of the programme was signed between the two countries and, in March 2019, MBDA announced the key review of the programme was successfully completed in cooperation with the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and the British Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S).^[4]

On 18 February 2022, an agreement and associated contracts signed by the head of the DGA, his British counterpart and the CEO of MBDA confirmed the launch of the preparation works for the FC/ASW.^[9][3]

As of 2022 the program was examining two concepts: a low observable subsonic cruise missile and a supersonic highly manoeuvrable missile; with the apparent discontinuation of a hypersonic solution similar to the CVS401 Perseus which was an early hypersonic missile concept from MBDA developed with input from both France and the UK.^[9]

The latest timeline for the for the program is that the assessment phase will be completed in 2024 and would move to the manufacturing phase from 2025 till 2035.^[8] There was also confirmation of two different, role-specific variants with the announcement that a deep-strike, land-attack variant would be delivered from 2028 and an anti-ship variant from 2034.^[8]

Development

CVS401 Perseus

Unveiled in 2011 at the Salon du Bourget in Paris,^[4] Perseus or CVS401 Perseus (named after the Greek hero Perseus) was a concept study undertaken by MBDA for a stealth hypersonic cruise missile designed in consultation with the Royal and French Navies and was produced by ten engineers working on the design for six months.^{[1][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

The Perseus was to be approximately five metres (16 ft) in length, had a weight of around 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) and be powered by a ramjet motor. The payload consisted of one 200-kilogram (440 lb) main and two 50-kilogram (110 lb) subsidiary warheads which could either directly contribute to the overall impact or be ejected from lateral bays before the missile reaches its target, in effect acting as submunitions. This unique feature would allow a single Perseus to either strike several targets in the same general area or to strike a single large target (such as an aircraft carrier) in several different areas simultaneously, with the aim of maximising damage.

"In this case, a linear attack pattern could be selected, munitions striking the forward, centre and aft sections simultaneously. If a unitary blast is required, then the effectors remain on board the parent missile to add their blast effect to the central warhead."^[12]

Two types of attack profiles were envisaged: a high-altitude approach, for engaging land-based targets; and a sea-skimming low-altitude approach terminating in a 'pop-up' engagement when dealing with surface threats like enemy warships.^[12]

The missiles "skimming the sea at wave top" followed by a pop-up manoeuvre would only allow an estimated 3 second response time for enemy warships.^[14]

The conceptualised sensor suite consisted of a multi-mode active e-scan radar with synthetic aperture radar and doppler beam sharpening, a laser radar (lidar) for terminal phase imaging and target recognition, and finally a "semi-active laser guidance capability, which MBDA believes will remain important for time-sensitive targeting for many years to come. Additionally, satellite datalink is to be incorporated for in-flight re-targeting using thin-profile, low-observable active antenna arrays.^[12]

MBDA animations showed Perseus to be vertically launched from surface warships as well as from the torpedo tubes of submerged attack submarines.^[16]

FC/ASW

At the 2016 UK–France Security Summit, the two parties pledged to work on a "joint concept phase for the FC/ASW programme to identify solutions for replacement of the Scalp/Storm Shadow missiles for both countries, Harpoon for the UK and Exocet for France."; leveraging the agreements set out in the Lancaster House Treaties^[17] In the 2018 United Kingdom-France Summit, the FC/ASW programme was further affirmed.^[18]

In July 2021, then UK Secretary of State for Defence Jeremy Quin, responded to a question on the in-service date for FC/ASW, stating: "The planning assumption for service entry for Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon on the Type 26 Frigate and Typhoon aircraft is 2028 and 2030 respectively".^[19]

In September 2021 the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to progress the project was postponed by France in response to the AUKUS security pact which saw Australia cancel the acquisition of French-designed conventional submarines in favour of nuclear submarines based on technology from United States and United Kingdom (SSN-AUKUS).^[20][21] In November the First Sea Lord, Admiral Tony Radakin, told the House of Commons Select Defence Committee that options for FC/ASW were still "being looked at" including potential hypersonic weapons. Were a collaborative approach still to be pursued, this might delay the introduction of these weapons until the 2030s.^[22]

Concept phase

In February 2022, the UK and France signed a government agreement and associated contracts as part of the FC/ASW program.^[9] This also came with the announcement that the program had begun assessing two complementary concepts for the missile's design: a subsonic low observable missile and a supersonic missile with high manoeuvrability.^[23][9][24] This announcement also appeared to confirm that program had discounted the development of a hypersonic missile akin to the conceptualised Perseus, instead choosing to invest further into subsonic/supersonic missile designs.

There is little public information regarding the surface-launched variant(s) of the program, with all marketing material showing air-launched weapons only.^[9] Some commentators have highlighted that while the Royal Navy's upcoming fleet mix consists of heavy usage of strike-length vertical launch cells (the eight Type 26 frigates have 24-cells dedicated for SSMs whilst the five Type 31 frigates have 32-cells which will likely be used for an indeterminate mixture of both CAMM for air defence and surface-to-surface missiles (SSM). There are also indications that both the Type 83 Destroyers^[25] and the SSN-AUKUS submarines^[26] will be fitted with vertical launch cells for SSMs), the French Navy currently only have six FREMMS (specifically, the ASW variants) capable of supporting vertically launched SSMs (16-cells).^[27] As a result, it has been suggested that the surface launched requirements for both parties may need to be met by separate two variants, one capable of being canister launched like the existing Exocet missiles for French requirements, and another capable of vertical launch for British requirements.^[27]

In June 2023 during the Paris Air Show, Italy signed a letter of intent with the UK and France to join the FC/ASW program, likely as a means of fielding future replacements both for Italy's Storm Shadow (SCALP) stockpiles and for its indigenous Teseo anti-ship missiles.^[7] This also came with an announcement that FC/ASW was expected to leave the concept phase and launch the primary design phase starting in 2024 with the finished product(s) entering service around 2028–2030.^[7]

On 13 November 2023, UK defence journalist Gabriele Molinelli reported that MBDA UK had begun looking at suppliers for the design and manufacture of two weapons containers suspected to be for the FC/ASW program beginning in 2026.^[28] One is to be a 7 x 0.7 m container with a total weight when full of 3,350 kg believed to be for naval vertical launch systems; the other is to be 6 m and have a weight when full of over 2,000 kg believed to be for an air launched effector.^[28]

On 17 November 2023, Shepard News reported that Italy had confirmed its initial funding of €10 million out of €150 million for the development of FC/ASW between 2023 and 2028.^[8][29] This also came with another timeline announcement which stated that a deep-strike, land-attack variant would be delivered in 2028 and an anti-ship variant delivered in 2034, seemingly confirming that the programme would produce two role-specific missile variants of an as of yet unspecified design(s).^[8][29]

Operators

Future operators

France

• French Air Force
• French Navy

Italy

• Italian Air Force
• Italian Navy

United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy

Similar missiles

• ASM-3 – a Japanese supersonic anti-ship missile.
• BrahMos – an Indo-Russian supersonic anti-ship missile derived from the P-800 Oniks.
• Hsiung Feng III - a Taiwanese supersonic anti-ship missile.
• P-800 Oniks – a Russian supersonic anti-ship missile.
• YJ-12 – a Chinese supersonic anti-ship missile.
• AGM-158 JASSM - an American subsonic, low-observable, land attack cruise missile.
• AGM-158C LRASM - an American subsonic, low-observable, anti-ship cruise missile derived from the AGM-158 JASSM.

See also

• Future of the Royal Navy
• Future of the French Navy
• Future of the Italian Navy

References

Notes

External links

• Video - MBDA Concept Vision 2011 "Perseus"