Italy Enhances Naval Strike Power with MBDA TESEO MK2/E Anti-Ship and Land-Attack Missiles
MBDA is a leading European developer and manufacturer of missiles and systems. As a multinational consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo, MBDA has produced a range of advanced weapons for air, land and sea forces. In late September 2025, MBDA announced a production contract to supply the Italian Navy with its new TESEO MK2/E anti-ship and land-attack missile. Known as “Teseo EVO,” the MK2/E is a new-generation weapon that will bring a substantial improvement to Italy’s naval strike capabilities.
The TESEO MK2/E builds on decades of the TESEO/Otomat missile family. It uses a solid rocket booster for launch and a turbojet sustainer for long-range cruise, enabling it to fly well beyond 350km. It travels at high subsonic speed using sea-skimming flight to reduce detectability. The missile’s advanced guidance suite combines inertial/GPS navigation with a cutting-edge active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar seeker and a dual-mode radio-frequency/electro-optical terminal seeker. A two-way satellite datalink allows operators to update targets in flight, and its multi-purpose warhead is optimized for penetrating ship hulls or neutralizing hardened land targets.
Italy’s Marina Militare is in a broad modernization phase, fielding new FREMM EVO frigates, PPA (Pattugliatori Polivalenti d’Altura) multi-purpose ships, and future DDX destroyers. The TESEO MK2/E is set to be the main anti-ship missile for these next-generation vessels. It will also complement the existing TESEO MK2/A missiles aboard current FREMM and Horizon-class frigates. The production contract, signed in September 2025, follows a 2021 development deal and secures the domestic manufacture of the missile. MBDA has already begun flight testing the TESEO MK2/E, with the missile’s first launch taking place on 14 October 2024. This validation of its design paves the way for qualification in 2025. Specific terms of the contract have not been disclosed.
MK2/E provides Italy’s navy with a long-range strike capability to keep enemy ships at risk well beyond the horizon. Its dual-role design also allows Italian warships to conduct deep strikes on coastal targets such as enemy radars or infrastructure. The program reinforces Italy’s defense industry and sovereignty as the production will be largely domestic. The TESEO MK2/E supply will significantly strengthen the Italian Navy’s deterrence and deep-strike posture.