Thales carries out first successful vertical firing of VL-VT1 Naval Crotale

Thales carries out first successful vertical firing of VL-VT1 Naval Crotale

27 October 2008
Thales successfully completed the firing of a VT1 missile from a DNCS SYLVERâ A35 vertical launcher. This first vertical firing of Naval Crotale system, led by a joint Thales-DCNS team, took place at the French Procurement Agency's Firing Range at Biscarrosse.

The new technical features of the VT1-VL naval Crotale were clearly demonstrated with this firing: ejection of the VT1 missile from SYLVER launcher, vertical take-off as well as the tip-off according to the controlled trajectory.

Following the successful completion of these steps and more than 300 successful VT1 flights in different locations around the world, the potential of VT1-VL Naval Crotale has now been confirmed. This firing, which was achieved at the first attempt, clearly shows that Thales has reached an important milestone in the development of the VT1-VL Naval Crotale. The successful firing is also a demonstration of the excellent cooperation that exists between the joint Thales-DCNS team.

Note to editors:
The Crotale system family is a short range air defence weapon system which is available in land and naval versions. It is in service in France, Finland, Oman, South Korea and other countries. The latest versions are equipped with the hypervelocity VT1 missile that ensures air target kill against any type of threat.

The SYLVER launcher family is a DCNS naval vertical launcher that equips six navies around the world, including France, the United Kingdom and Italy.

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Missiles, Naval Systems, Thales (HO:PA), DCNS