Edge announces MANSUP anti-ship missile orders

Edge unveiled the MANSUP-ER, an extended-range version of Brazil's National Surface Anti-Ship Missile, at the Dubai Airshow. (Edge Group)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces has signed a letter of intent covering a AED1.2 billion (USD327 million) order for anti-ship missiles, local defence group Edge announced during the Dubai Airshow on 15 November.

It said the order would cover the National Surface Anti-Ship Missile (MANSUP) that was originally developed for the Brazilian Navy and the extended-range MANSUP-ER version that was unveiled by Edge at the Dubai Airshow.

The UAE order was announced the day Rear Admiral Marcelo Menezes Cardoso, the Brazilian Navy's director of weapons systems, signed an agreement that Edge said was an order worth around AED600 million for MANSUP and MANSUP-ER missiles.

The MANSUP-ER has a range of 200 km, uses active-radar terminal guidance, and has adaptive sea-skimming capabilities, according to Edge, which also said that land- and air-launched versions will be developed and that it is in advanced discussions with other potential customers for the new missile.

The MANSUP was developed to replace the Exocet MM40 Block 1 used by the Brazilian Navy and has been test-fired five times but has not entered service.

Edge joined the programme in June when it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian Navy that covered further development of the missile. It acquired a 50% stake in SIATT, the Brazilian company that developed the guidance system for the MANSUP, in September.

In a move that is likely to be key to the development of the MANSUP-ER, Edge announced in August that it had signed a strategic agreement with the Brazilian jet-engine company Turbomachine to develop engines for its missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.