MBDA has signed a contract for the supply of a coastal defence system for the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF). The contract, signed in Doha on 1st September, confirms an MoU announced at the DIMDEX Show in March. The deal is believed to be worth more than €600m.
The coastal missile system will deploy two different munitions, Marte ER (the Extended Range version of the Marte missile) and Exocet MM40 Block 3, and will be able to work in autonomous mode with its own radar, or alternatively by data-linking to a higher level within a wider coastal surveillance network.
The supply of these coastal missile systems will allow the QENF to prevent hostile ships from reaching and threatening their territorial waters.
The contract follows a contract signed with the QENF in June worth more than €1bn to equip the new naval vessels recently procured from Fincantieri (four corvettes, one Landing Platform Dock amphibious vessel and two Offshore Patrol Vessels) with MBDA missiles.