Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon

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][8][9][10][11][12][13][8]

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."[10]

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.[10]

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.[12]

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.

The missile also feature a "semi-active laser guidance capability." MBDA believes that this guidance method will remain important for time-sensitive targeting for many years to come. Satellite datalink is to be incorporated for in-flight re-targeting, using thin-profile, low-observable active antenna arrays."[10]

MBDA animations show Perseus to be vertically launched from surface warships as well as from the torpedo tubes of submerged attack submarines.[14]

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."[15] In the 2018 United Kingdom-France Summit, the FC/ASW programme was further affirmed. [16]

In July 2021, then 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".[17]

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 United States and UK technology.[18][19] 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.[20]

In 2022, the UK and France signed a government agreement and associated contracts as part of the FC/ASW program.[7] This also came with the announcement that the program had begun assessing two complementary concepts for the missile's design:[7]

• A subsonic low observable missile.
• A supersonic missile with high manoeuvrability.

There's still no firm confirmation if the program will produce either a single system from one of these two concepts capable of equally engaging in the anti-Ship and land-attack roles or produce both concepts as separate weapons: a stealthy subsonic cruise missile primarily focusing on land attack, and a supersonic missile focusing more on anti-shipping. However, the press release's description of "complementary concepts" in addition other MBDA marketing material showing two separate weapons has reinforced the latter hypothesis.[21][7][22] Interestingly, the program appears to have discounted the potential development of a hypersonic missile, instead choosing to invest further in well-established subsonic/supersonic propulsion systems.

There has yet to be public information regarding the surface-launched variant(s) of the program, with all marketing material showing air-launched weapons only.[7] 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 SSMs. It is also possibly that both the Type 83 Destroyers[23] and the SSN-AUKUS submarines[24] will be fitted with vertical launch cells for SSMs), the French Navy only have six FREMMS (ASW variants) capable of supporting vertically launched SSMs.[25] This means it is possible that the surface launched requirements for both parties may need to be met by two variants, one capable of being cannister launched like the existing Exocet missiles for French requirements, and another capable of vertical launch for British requirements.

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.[6]

The FC/ASW is 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.[6]

France

• French Air Force
• French Navy

United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy

Italy

• Italian Air Force
• Italian Navy

• ASM-3 – a Japanese supersonic anti-ship missile of the same range class.
• BrahMos – an Indo-Russian supersonic anti-ship missile derived from the P-800.
• Hsiung Feng III - a Taiwanese supersonic anti-ship missile of the same range class.
• P-800 Oniks – a Russian supersonic anti-ship missile of the same range class.
• YJ-12 – a Chinese supersonic anti-ship missile of the same range class.

Notes

• Video - MBDA Concept Vision 2011 "Perseus"