RMN test-fires Exocet missile

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) successfully test-fired an Exocet MM38 missile in the Straits of Malacca on Thursday. 

Royal Malaysian Navy chief Laksamana Tan Sri Ramlan Mohamed Ali said the test fire was done from the Fast Attack Craft Missile. 

“The purpose of this test is to ensure that the surface-to-surface Exocet weapons system is in good operating condition,” he said at a press conference. 

The missile weighs about 735kg and is 5.21m long with a diameter of 35cm. 

It functions in all weather conditions and is capable of destroying ships of various sizes because of its heavy warhead weighing about 165kg.  

The test fire successfully determined the MM38 weapon's capability, the readiness of the ship's operation and the efficiency of the operator handling the system, among others, he said. 

According to Wikipedia, Exocet is designed to hit large warships.  

French-built, the anti-ship missile can be launched from surface vessels, submarines and airplanes. The MM38 is the surface-launched version. 

Exocets were used by Argentina during the Falklands War in 1982 to destroy Britain's HMS Sheffield and to sink its support ship. It was also used in the 1980s Persian Gulf war when Iraq fired some 200 air-launched Exocet against Iranian targets.