In a statement on July 4, the French defense minister announced the first successful test firing of a new helicopter-launched antiship cruise missile. During a test on June 21, 2017, the 20 km range Sea Venom/ANL (anti-navire léger ) was “pushed to the very edge of its range capability,” according to the missile manufacturer’s program head, Paul Goodwin. Future tests will challenge the missiles operator-in-the-loop capabilities, such as re-targeting and abort actions. The Sea Venom/ANL is a joint venture by French and British navies designed for use against smaller, lighter ships such as fast attack vessels and corvettes. The missile is intended to replace the British Sea Skua and French AS15TT antiship weapons.