MBDA’s Sea Ceptor system will protect the Royal Navy’s new Type 31 frigates under a contract awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence, MBDA announced.
Sea Ceptor is one of the world’s most modern naval air defence system of its class. Utilising the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), it offers both world-leading close-in air defence and local-area air defence. The system will allow the Type 31 to protect simultaneously both itself and vessels near it from attack from current and future threats, including high-speed manoeuvring missiles, attack aircraft and fast inshore attack craft.
Eric Beranger, CEO of MBDA, said: “We are very pleased to mark this latest success for the CAMM family. Sea Ceptor was designed to change the game in naval air defence and, with Type 31 the latest in a growing list of ship classes that Sea Ceptor has been chosen to protect, it is rapidly delivering on this promise.”
The new contract includes integration of Sea Ceptor with the Type 31’s systems, along with delivery and installation of ship hardware for the Type 31 programme. Designed and made in the UK, the contract forms part of the Portfolio Management Agreement (PMA), a partnership initiated in 2010 between the UK MoD and MBDA on sovereign complex weapons design and production. The PMA delivers world-beating military equipment for the UK Armed Forces and has secured over 4,000 jobs at MBDA UK while generating savings worth over £1.2 billion.
Sea Ceptor is currently in service on the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, and will also protect the new Type 26 frigates. The UK Ministry of Defence maintains a common stockpile of CAMM missiles for both the Royal Navy and the British Army. The CAMM missile family has been selected by a growing list of other nations for both naval and land-based air defence.
MBDA has been awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin Canada to equip the Royal Canadian Navy’s new Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) with the Sea Ceptor air defence weapon system last month.
About Sea Ceptor missile:
Sea Ceptor is the next-generation, ship-based, all-weather, air defence weapon system.
Through the use of new advanced technologies, Sea Ceptor provides complete protection against all known and projected air targets. The weapon system is now in full-scale development for the UK MOD as the principal air defence capability for the Royal Navy’s Type 23 and Type 26 frigates.
Sea Ceptor will protect both the host ship and high-value units in the local area. The Weapon System has the capability to intercept and thereby neutralise the full range of current and future threats including combat aircraft and the new generation of supersonic anti-ship missiles. Capable of multiple channels of fire, the system will also counter saturation attacks.
The weapon system can be easily retrofitted into a wide range of platforms, ranging from 50m OPVs to frigates and destroyers. Two main features provide this flexibility.
Firstly, the use of “soft-launch” weapon technology for a highly scaleable and compact launch system that can easily be installed in a number of locations. Secondly, it can be targeted from the ship’s existing surveillance radar sensors and therefore does not require dedicated fire control radars.
Sea Ceptor will operate from the SYLVER and Mk41 launchers using a quad-pack configuration, various flexible canister configurations are also available. The Soft Vertical Launch technology reduces system mass and eases installation.
CHARACTERISTICS
- Weight: 99 kg
- Length: 3.2 m
- Diameter: 166 mm
- Range: In excess of 25 km
- Speed: Supersonic
Check out Naval Library App to find out the specifications of Sea Ceptor Missile.
