In 1996, I was brought in to work at what was then Loral Vought Systems to work on navalization issues for the VT1 missile, which was the missile for the Crotale NG system from Thompson CSF.

Now, they have adapted the missile for vertical launch, and made a successful launch.

It’s a fairly simple point defense system, roughly analagous to Seawolf, in that the launcher mounted fire control system guides the missile to the target, andt here is no seeker on the missile.

Since I’ve worked on the system, Thomson CSF become the French defense behemouth Thales.

Truth be told, I’m kind of surprised that they are still developing the missile. It feels like an awful long time ago.

It’s why I can claim to be a “rocket scientist”