On September 10, British Defense Secretary F. Hammond, during the DSEI-2013 exhibition of weapons and military equipment, announced the signing of a contract for the supply of Sea Ceptor anti-aircraft missile systems to the Navy. In the next few years, the British Navy will receive complexes and missiles totaling £ 250 million (about $ 390 million). The new air defense systems will be used on the Type 23 frigates currently in operation and on the promising Type 26 frigates. The Sea Ceptor complex will replace the latest modifications of the Sea Wolf air defense system.
The Sea Ceptor anti-aircraft missile system was developed by MBDA in cooperation with BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica. It is a shipborne air defense system created under the FLAADS (Future Low-Altitude Air Defense System) project. The ship complex is supposed to be armed with CAMM (M) missiles (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (Maritime) - "Single modular anti-aircraft missile, sea"), also created during the FLAADS project. In addition to the shipborne version of the FLAADS air defense system, there are projects for the land version with the CAMM (L) missile and the CAMM (A) air-to-air modification for the air force.
The FLAADS project started in the middle of the last decade. Its goal was to create a promising short- and medium-range anti-aircraft missile system suitable for use in the ground forces and the navy. In addition, the determined appearance of a promising anti-aircraft missile made it possible to begin the creation of a third version of the ammunition intended for arming fighter aircraft. The development of the anti-aircraft complex and the missile for it was carried out in two stages.
During the first MBDA and the companies participating in the project, together with the scientific organizations of the British Department of Defense, they worked out technologies and solved the main issues related to the appearance of the rocket. During the first stage of development, they dealt with vertical launch systems from a silo launcher in accordance with the SVL (Soft Vertical Launch) concept; a relatively simple, cheap, but effective active radar homing head; detection and control systems, as well as a number of other technical and conceptual problems.
The second phase of the project began in 2008. Its purpose was to work out the found technical solutions and test various systems. From 2008 to 2011, MBDA staff conducted several test runs using the SVL system. The last test "soft start" took place in May 2011. This test launch of a weight simulator of a combat missile completed the second stage of the development of a promising air defense system. In the future, all work on the FLAADS project was carried out in the direction of improving the radio-electronic equipment of the rocket and carrier platforms.
The next milestone in the history of the FLAADS project was the contract signed in January 2012. In accordance with this document, MBDA and related enterprises received 483 million pounds (about 770 million dollars) for the completion of the development of the FLAADS anti-aircraft missile system in the version for ships of the naval forces. SAM with missile CAMM (M) was named Sea Ceptor. The naval version of the complex was planned to be adopted first. Anti-aircraft systems for the ground forces and missiles for the Air Force will go into production a few years after it.
The exact characteristics of the Sea Ceptor complex and the CAMM (M) missile have not yet been announced. So, big questions are raised by the maximum range of target destruction. Some sources indicate that the missile can hit targets at ranges of up to 25 kilometers. At the same time, there is information according to which a ship with a Sea Ceptor air defense system can defend an area of about 500 square meters. km. A simple calculation shows that in this case, the range turns out to be about half the declared 25 kilometers.
The CAMM (M) missile is 10 feet (3.2 meters) long, 6.5 inches (166 mm) in diameter excluding fins and weighs 220 pounds (about 99 kg). The ammunition is equipped with a folding tail, consisting of four stabilizers in the tail section. According to reports, the rocket, using a solid-propellant engine, is capable of accelerating in flight to a speed of about 1020 meters per second. This will allow guided munitions to intercept various aircraft and anti-ship missiles. The missile will be guided to the target using an active radar homing head. There is also a two-way communication channel with the anti-aircraft complex. The warhead of the high-explosive fragmentation missile.
The relatively small dimensions of the new missiles will make it possible to use the space available on the ships with greater efficiency. For example, a container with four CAMM (M) missiles can be loaded into one cell of an American-designed Mk41 vertical launcher. However, the British Navy will not immediately take advantage of this opportunity. On Type 23 frigates, Sea Wolf missile launchers will be replaced by Sea Ceptor units without changing the number of missiles transported. Thus, the ammunition load of short-range anti-aircraft missiles for Type 23 ships will remain the same. On the ships of the new Type 26 project, the number of anti-aircraft missiles will be different, since it will be determined taking into account the needs of the fleet.
On September 10, new tests of the CAMM (M) rocket took place. On this day, British specialists from MBDA, together with colleagues from the American company Lockheed Martin, conducted joint tests of a missile for the Sea Ceptor anti-aircraft complex. In accordance with an agreement in May this year, the two companies have completed major work on the integration of Sea Ceptor missiles and the Mk41 vertical launcher. Reportedly, a series of successful launches were carried out. It is expected that the use of CAMM (M) missiles with American-made launchers will provide the Sea Ceptor complex with great export prospects.
The first Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile systems will enter service with the British Navy in 2016. During the first years, the Ministry of Defense and the MBDA company will study the features of the use of missiles and technical means of the complex. At the same time, within the framework of the FLAADS program, the development of two other versions of the air defense system will be carried out. The first, according to current plans, should appear the land version of the anti-aircraft complex.
The FLAADS version for the ground forces (by analogy with the shipborne version is sometimes referred to as Ceptor) will appear no earlier than 2020 and will replace the Rapier air defense systems currently in use. The combat module of the land-based air defense system will be a container with missiles and part of the necessary equipment. It is expected that this will provide air defense for both stationary objects and troops on the march, installing the container in the right place or transporting it on a suitable vehicle. The final appearance of the anti-aircraft complex for the army has not yet been fully determined and may change significantly by 2020.
Little is known about the CAMM (A) missile project for the Air Force. MBDA has announced that a promising anti-aircraft missile will be used on aircraft currently using ASRAAM ammunition. The most noticeable difference between the aircraft missile and the sea and land versions of the CAMM will be rigidly fixed planes. Operation on airplanes allows not to reduce the dimensions to a minimum, due to which it will be possible to slightly reduce the weight of the rocket due to the mechanisms of unfolding the stabilizers. The characteristics of the CAMM (A) are expected to be on par with other missiles in the family. There is no exact information regarding the architecture of the guidance systems. Probably, it will be slightly modified equipment of the existing missile complex Sea Ceptor.
In view of the expected timeframe for putting into service, missile projects for ground forces and aviation are still at the design stage. The missile for the Sea Ceptor ship anti-aircraft complex is already being tested, but its practical use will begin only in a few years. The years remaining until the end of the decade, the MBDA employees will have to work actively: in the early twenties, it is planned not only to adopt the Ceptor land-based air defense system, but also to start operating the first ships of the Type 26 project.
