DSEI 2025: MBDA unveils Akeron MBT 120 NLOS missile

MBDA is unveiling the Akeron MBT 120 NLOS missile at DSEI 2025. (MBDA)

MBDA is unveiling the Akeron MBT 120 non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missile for main battle tanks (MBTs) at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2025 exhibition being held in London on 9-12 September.

Drawing on combat experience in Ukraine, the weapon is designed to enable current MBTs to continue to dominate the battlefield of next-generation warfare. A business development executive for the product noted that 90% of engagements in Ukraine involve blind firing at ranges under 1,500 m.

Weighing around 20 kg, the nearly 1 m long projectile powered by a rocket motor producing a lower supersonic speed can be integrated at low cost with the existing weapon and ammunition stowage of MBTs, offering high loadout without having to change a platform's silhouette or signature. Loading takes place under armour, where it is not visible to the enemy, who can therefore not identify which one of a formation of MBTs is armed with Akeron and which ones with conventional 120 mm shells, the executive said.

Akeron MBT 120 is designed to destroy enemy platforms while reducing the risk of return fire, increasing survivability and reducing reliance on artillery, according to MBDA. A passive electro-optical seeker enables the missile to defeat laser-activated defensive aid systems, with top-attack of the weak points of an enemy vehicle. The firing vehicle can shoot and scoot as soon as Akeron MBT 120 is in the air, the executive said.

He described the weapon as being comparable to conventional 120 mm rounds, albeit more expensive, and as being able to be launched with guidance provided by existing command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition (C4ISTAR).