Article Posted on : - Oct 10, 2012

An MBDA photo.

PARIS (BNS): The French Navy's Rafale fighter jet has test-fired an Exocet AM39 anti-ship missile as part of an operational evaluation trial last month.

The multi-role naval fighter, Rafale M27, armed with the MBDA-made Exocet AM39 missile, catapulted from the deck of the Navy's Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier and landed on the same deck one hour and half later on September 20.

The (missile) firing conditions were fully representative of an operational mission, the missile manufacturer MBDA said quoting the French Navy.

"The success of this firing is a step further in the qualification of both the aircraft and the missile. It marks the end of the military experimentations and the start of the missile operational life," it said.

The French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) had qualified Exocet for the Rafale fighters in 2007 as part of the development of the aircraft's F3 configuration.