Munitions

AM39 Exocet

Also known as
  • Exocet AM39
  • AM39
  • AM-39 Exocet

The MBDA AM39 Exocet is the French air-launched member of the Exocet anti-ship missile family, built for strike aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters. It is documented in Argentine Falklands War attacks and Iraqi Tanker War use against USS Stark, while current MBDA material describes the Block 2 Mod 2 missile as a digitised fire-and-forget weapon in French Navy and export service.

AM39 Exocet, Air-launched anti-ship missile, Munitions
Image source: Exocet AM39 P1220892

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
France
Built by
MBDA
Type
Air-launched anti-ship missile

Specifications

Weight
670 kg
Length
4.69 m
Diameter
350 mm
Range
Up to 70 km, depending on launch altitude and speed
Warhead
165 kg high-explosive fragmentation or semi-armor-piercing warhead
Guidance
Fire-and-forget active radar homing
Launch platforms
Strike aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters
Service entry
1979
Air-Launched Exocet Context

The AM39 branch gives Exocet an aircraft-launched maritime-strike role separate from the ship-launched MM38/MM40 and submarine-launched SM39 variants. MBDA lists Rafale, ATL2 Atlantic aircraft, and multi-platform aircraft integration, while conflict records show the air-launched missile mattered most when aircraft could approach naval targets from outside short-range ship defenses.

Variant branch

Air-launched Exocet model for combat aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

Modernization

Block 2 Mod 2 is described by MBDA as digitised for newer fixed- and rotary-wing platforms.

Combat pattern

Documented wartime use centers on anti-ship attacks launched by Argentine and Iraqi aircraft.

Sources: EXOCET AM39; CSIS Exocet Missile Threat; Loss of HMS Sheffield - Board of Inquiry; NHHC USS Reid DANFS.

Variants

The AM39 is the air-launched Exocet branch. Public sources distinguish the original AM39, the 1990s Block 2 modernization step, and the current fully digitised Block 2 Mod 2 configuration, also written AM39B2M2 or AM39 B2M2 in Brazilian H225M integration sources.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
AM39Air-launched Exocet baseline

CSIS identifies AM39 as the air-launched Exocet model, with production and service entry in the late 1970s.

Sources: CSIS Exocet Missile Threat

AM39 / MM40 Block 21992 modernization step

CSIS describes AM39/MM40 Block 2 development and employment in 1992.

Sources: CSIS Exocet Missile Threat

AM39 Block 2 Mod 2Digitised current-production configuration

MBDA describes the latest Block 2 Mod 2 version as digitised for newer fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.

Sources: EXOCET AM39

AM39B2M2 / AM39 B2M2Brazilian H225M integration designation

Brazilian Air Force and Airbus sources use AM39B2M2 or AM39 B2M2 for the Exocet missile integrated with the Brazilian Navy H225M naval combat configuration.

Sources: FAB certifica míssil em helicóptero da Marinha do Brasil, First ever naval combat H225M delivered to the Brazilian Navy

Carrier Aircraft

MBDA describes AM39 Exocet as an air-launched missile carried by strike aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
Dassault Rafale, Twin-engine multirole fighter aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsDassault RafaleMultirole fighter

MBDA says the Hellenic Air Force's new Rafales will be armed with AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.

Sources: MBDA to arm Hellenic Air Force's new Rafale fighter jets

Mirage 2000, Single-engine multirole fighter aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsMirage 2000Multirole fighter

MBDA links the Hellenic Rafale weapons package to commonality with Mirage 2000 and Mirage 2000-5 aircraft already in Hellenic Air Force service, including AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.

Sources: MBDA to arm Hellenic Air Force's new Rafale fighter jets

Mirage F1, Single-engine fighter and strike aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsMirage F1Strike fighter

USNI News recounts the USS Stark attack as two Iraqi Exocet missiles fired from a Dassault Mirage F1; other later accounts dispute the exact launch aircraft, so this row is framed as the USNI account rather than an uncontested identification.

Sources: The Attack on USS Stark at 30

Sea King, Multi-role maritime helicopter, Aircraft & UAVsSea KingASuW helicopter

Asian Military Review reports Pakistan Navy Westland Sea King Mk45 helicopters can be armed with AM39 Exocet anti-shipping missiles.

Sources: PN Sea King fleet swells

Timeline

AM39 Exocet Key Events

  1. AM39 enters service

    CSIS records the AM39 air-launched Exocet as entering service in 1979.

  2. HMS Sheffield hit

    The HMS Sheffield Board of Inquiry recorded a single AM39 Exocet hit during the Falklands War attack.

  3. USS Stark attacked

    NHHC material records USS Stark being struck by Iraqi AM39 Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf.

  4. Block 2 Mod 2 validation firing

    Naval News reports that the AM39 Block 2 Mod 2 completed final validation firing from a Rafale M F3 in June 2007.

  5. ATL2 live firing

    A French Navy ATL2 Standard 6 maritime patrol aircraft test-fired a live AM39 Exocet during qualification trials.

  6. Greek Rafale armament contract

    MBDA announced that Hellenic Air Force Rafales would be armed with AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles alongside other MBDA weapons.

  7. H225M firing campaign

    Brazilian and Airbus sources record AM39B2M2/AM39 B2M2 certification and firing work for the Brazilian Navy H225M naval helicopter.

Media

AM39 Exocet Videos

AM39 Exocet Images

AM39 Exocet, Air-launched anti-ship missile, Munitions - view 1
Source: Atlantique2Photo tir AM39 2
AM39 Exocet, Air-launched anti-ship missile, Munitions - view 2
Source: Super Étendard + Exocet
Related Weapon Systems
Exocet MM38 anti-ship cruise missile, Ship- and ground-launched anti-ship cruise missile, MunitionsMunitionsExocet MM38 anti-ship cruise missileShip- and ground-launched anti-ship cruise missileThe Exocet MM38 is the original French surface-launched Exocet anti-ship cruise missile, developed by Nord Aviation and fielded from ships before later coastal adaptations. MBDA identifies MM38 as a fire-and-forget, sea-skimming design, while Falklands War sources document Argentine technicians adapting ship-launched MM38 missiles into an improvised shore battery that struck HMS Glamorgan on June 12, 1982.
Marte Mk.2 anti-ship missile, Anti-ship missile, MunitionsMunitionsMarte Mk.2 anti-ship missileAnti-ship missileThe Marte Mk.2 is an Italian lightweight anti-ship missile family developed from the Sea Killer/Marte line and now marketed by MBDA for helicopter, aircraft, ship, and coastal-defense applications. Current MBDA material centers the family on the shared 310 kg MARTE MK2 missile, with the MK2/S serving fixed- and rotary-wing launch roles and the MK2/N adapting the same missile to ship launchers. The family uses fire-and-forget, all-weather sea-skimming flight with inertial mid-course waypoint navigation, active radar terminal homing, a semi-piercing high-explosive warhead, and impact/proximity fuzing.
D'Estienne d'Orves-class / A69 type aviso, Aviso / light corvette class, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsD'Estienne d'Orves-class / A69 type avisoAviso / light corvette classThe D'Estienne d'Orves-class / A69 type aviso is a French-built light corvette and patrol-vessel family developed for coastal anti-submarine warfare, escort, and overseas-presence missions. Arsenal de Lorient built the original French ships around an 80-meter diesel hull with Exocet missiles, a 100 mm CADAM gun, torpedoes, and a 375 mm anti-submarine rocket launcher; later service included French counter-piracy and embargo patrols plus Argentine Drummond-class combat use in the Falklands War.

Sources

EXOCET AM39Publisher: MBDA | Note: Supports AM39 Exocet manufacturer background, service context, and published specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-27EXOCET FamilyPublisher: MBDA | Note: Supports Exocet family background and French Navy origin context. | Accessed: 2026-06-27CSIS Exocet Missile ThreatPublisher: Center for Strategic and International Studies | Note: Supports Exocet family variant distinctions, AM39 service-entry and specification context, and direct conflict-use references for AM39 in the 1982 Falklands War and 1980 Iran-Iraq War. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Loss of HMS Sheffield - Board of InquiryPublisher: Commander-in-Chief Fleet | Note: Direct 1982 Falklands War source for HMS Sheffield being lost after a single AM39 Exocet hit. | Accessed: 2026-07-01NHHC USS Reid DANFSPublisher: Naval History and Heritage Command | Note: Direct 1980 Iran-Iraq War source for USS Stark being struck by two Iraqi AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles in the Persian Gulf. | Accessed: 2026-07-01The Attack on USS Stark at 30Publisher: USNI News | Note: Supports Mirage F1 and Exocet launch context in a USS Stark attack account. | Accessed: 2026-07-01PN Sea King fleet swellsPublisher: Asian Military Review | Note: Supports Pakistan Navy Sea King Mk45 carriage of AM39 Exocet anti-shipping missiles. | Accessed: 2026-07-01French Navy Upgraded ATL2 MPA Test Fires Exocet AM39 Anti-Ship MissilePublisher: Naval News | Note: Supports ATL2 Standard 6 live AM39 firing context and AM39 Block 2 Mod 2 validation and modernization background. | Accessed: 2026-07-01FAB certifica míssil em helicóptero da Marinha do BrasilPublisher: Força Aérea Brasileira | Note: Supports AM39B2M2 designation and June 2021 H225M certification campaign context. | Accessed: 2026-07-01First ever naval combat H225M delivered to the Brazilian NavyPublisher: Airbus | Note: Supports H225M naval combat configuration with MBDA Exocet AM39 B2M2 missiles and the 2021 firing campaign milestone. | Accessed: 2026-07-01MBDA to arm Hellenic Air Force's new Rafale fighter jetsPublisher: MBDA | Note: Supports the Hellenic Air Force Rafale armament context that documents AM39 Exocet carried by the aircraft. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Exocet AM39 P1220892Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for an AM39 Exocet missile under a Rafale. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Atlantique2Photo tir AM39 2Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for an AM39 Exocet launch from an Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Super Étendard + ExocetPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a Super Étendard carrying Exocet ammunition. | Accessed: 2026-06-27