European missile manufacturer MBDA has confirmed that the India's ministry of defence has signed a contract with defence public sector unit Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) for the supply of MILAN missiles to the Indian Army. It said the contract was inked on 3 December 2008.

According to MBDA the contract will ensure continuing production of the MILAN missile at the BDL, under licence agreement with MBDA for at least another four years.

It said that BDL has already manufactured well over 30,000 variants of the MILAN missile in an unbroken business partnership that dates back to the 1970s. It said the latest contract will further consolidate the relationship.

For the latest contracts most of the components will be locally sourced and produced in India with BDL also responsible for final assembly. MBDA will contribute part of the missile systems.

Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, said: "I am doubly delighted by the news of this contract. As well as confirming that MILAN continues to be the weapon of choice for many of today's modern ground forces, this contract also further cements the close partnership MBDA has developed with BDL over the years".

MBDA, a consortium of EADS, BAE Systems and Finmeccanica, did not disclose either the value of the contract, or the size of the order in terms of units.

It has been reported locally that the army may have ordered as many as 4,100 2T versions of the anti-tank guided missiles. 

MILAN, developed by the French and German elements of MBDA, is a man-portable, easy to use, medium-range, anti-tank weapon. It features reliable wire-guided SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line Of Sight) technology to provide man-in-the-loop control for today's complex modern battlefield.

With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems and is the only group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air).

In all, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development.

It is jointly owned by BAE Systems (37,5%). EADS (37,5%) and Finmeccanica (25%).

MILAN

MILAN is a medium range wire-guided infantry weapon, with a range of between 25 and 2,000 metres for anti-tank warfare and multi-role strikes against ground targets.

The MILAN 3 system has been in production since 1996 and due to its 2T (tandem) military warhead it can destroy modern reactive armour. With an upgraded kill potential and even better resistance to jamming and decoying, MILAN 3 is offered as a new system or as an upgrade to existing equipment for customers already equipped with the MILAN 1, 2 or 2T.

MILAN ADT-ER, the latest generation of the MILAN family, is banking on the latest in optronics and has an extended range of 3000 meters to cope with the ever changing mission requirements on the modern battlefield.

Main features:

• Can be carried by two men
• Resistant to countermeasures
• Reliability > 95% in 100,000 firings performed
• Multi-role fire support against all ground targets
• New Milan 3 version with upgraded kill potential and anti-jamming capability
• Accuracy, reliability, flexibility of tactical use, easy logistics.
• 75% of the world medium range anti-tank market

MILAN is in service in 43 countries and has 75% of the world market for medium range anti-tank weapons.