Tag Archives: Sea Ceptor

Navy

Sea Ceptor

Sea Ceptor provides a powerful shield against airborne threats, including hostile combat jets, helicopters and other missiles, and has been developed and manufactured through Ministry of Defence contracts worth around £850m.

Developed by MBDA, the Sea Ceptor naval air-defense missile system has already been fired from three upgraded Type 23 frigates and was officially declared to have entered service by UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (UK MoD photo)
Developed by MBDA, the Sea Ceptor naval air-defense missile system has already been fired from three upgraded Type 23 frigates and was officially declared to have entered service by UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (UK MoD photo)

It will be carried by the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates and has been successfully demonstrated through a trials and test firing campaign that started last year. Most recently, Plymouth-based HMS Montrose (F236) became the third ship to test fire the system.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: «Sea Ceptor will protect our nation against the intensifying threats we face today and, in the future, giving our ships a powerful shield against everything from supersonic missiles to enemy fighter jets. Fitting our warships with this ground-breaking technology not only protects our Navy but shows we are world leaders at sea. HMS Argyll (F231) will be the first ship to deploy with this cutting-edge system when she heads to support peace and security in the Asia Pacific region later this year».

The announcement, made at the RUSI Sea Power Conference in London, follows detailed analysis of data gathered during the first of class firing trials by HMS Argyll (F231), which took place last year. HMS Westminster (F237) and HMS Montrose (F236), the second and third ships to be fitted with Sea Ceptor, have since also carried out successful firings.

Sea Ceptor has been designed and manufactured by MBDA and is directly supporting 600 jobs in Bristol, Stevenage and Bolton as part of the Team Complex Weapons partnering agreement between MOD and MBDA. The first firings of Sea Ceptor were conducted from HMS Argyll (F231) at the Hebrides range off the coast of Scotland and saw the system tested against a range of complex scenarios – including engaging multiple targets at once. Sea Ceptor is a major improvement on the existing Seawolf missile system which is being replaced. It offers improved performance against current and projected future threats, the ability to engage multiple targets, and allows the frigates to protect escorted vessels. The system is to be fitted to the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 frigates.

Richard Smart, Director Weapons for the MOD’s procurement organisation Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), said: «Sea Ceptor’s entry into service with the Royal Navy is a significant milestone, a massive achievement for everyone involved and a proud moment for the team. It’s really exciting to be delivering a new capability that will form part of the protection for the new aircraft carriers and will help to keep our service personnel and our country safe».

Recently, HMS Montrose (F236) took part in the third test firing of the system and successfully intercepted a fast-moving drone target. Within seconds of the missile bursting from the ship’s silo, the simulated threat was destroyed.

Commander Conor O’Neill, the Commanding Officer of HMS Montrose (F236), said: «The test firing we carried out represents the successful culmination of a great deal of hard work by many people from Babcock, the Short Range Air Defence team, DE&S, MBDA and the Royal Navy. I am extremely proud of my ship’s company for their professional attitude which enabled the test firing to go so smoothly. This missile system represents a vastly-improved capability for the Royal Navy and puts us ahead of the game in being able to defend ourselves and our new aircraft carriers from threat».

Navy

First-of-class

HMS Argyll (F231) has successfully conducted the first firings of the Sea Ceptor system, a major milestone for the Royal Navy as it brings its upgraded Type 23 frigates back into service.

Sea Ceptor firing from the HMS Argyll
Sea Ceptor firing from the HMS Argyll

The Sea Ceptor system, which utilises MBDA’s next-generation Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), is being fitted to replace the Sea Wolf weapon system on the Type 23 frigates as part of their life-extension programme. Sea Ceptor will provide improved protection for the Royal Navy against anti-ship cruise missiles, aircraft and other highly sophisticated threats.

HMS Argyll (F231) is the first Type 23 to undergo the life-extension programme, and will conduct further firing trials of the Sea Ceptor system before returning to frontline service. Sea Ceptor not only provides a robust self-defence capability for the host vessel but importantly also a local area air defence competency to defend consort vessels within a maritime task group.

Designed and manufactured by MBDA in the UK, Sea Ceptor will also protect the Royal Navy’s future Type 26 Frigates, and as Land Ceptor will replace Rapier in British Army service. The missile uses innovative technologies that provide significant improvements in performance compared with previous generations of missiles.

Compared to Sea Wolf, CAMM is faster, has longer range, has a two-way data link, and has a much more advanced seeker, all of which enable the missile to intercept more challenging targets.

Dave Armstrong, Executive Group Director Sales and Business Development and Managing Director UK at MBDA, said: «Sea Ceptor is the most modern air defence system of its type in the world, and will provide a step-change in capability to the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates. These first firings are testament to the hard work of the talented team of people working on the programme across MBDA, the Royal Navy, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), BAE Systems and QinetiQ. CAMM is a perfect demonstration of the benefits of the portfolio-approach to complex weapons between MBDA and the UK MoD, simultaneously delivering world-beating technology to our Armed Forces and significant cost benefits to the UK taxpayer».

Traditional air defence systems utilise semi-active radar guidance, meaning they rely on a surface-based fire control radar to illuminate the missile’s target. By using an active radar seeker and datalink on the missile CAMM does not require the dedicated fire control radar on which a semi-active system depends. This not only removes cost and weight from the vessel, it makes integration simpler and means that Sea Ceptor can intercept more targets simultaneously, and across 360 degrees – something a semi-active system cannot.

The missile’s clean aerodynamic design provides it with improved performance in the air, while also making it highly compact for installation onboard ship. Moreover, Sea Ceptor uses an innovative soft vertical launch system that significantly reduces the impact of a traditional «hot launch» missile on both the ship and the crew.

Besides the Royal Navy and the British Army, CAMM is also the modern air defence weapon of choice for a further four nations’ armed services.

 

CHARACTERISTICS

Weight 218.3 lbs/99 kg
Length 10.5 feet/3.2 m
Diameter 6.5 inches/166 mm
Range In excess of 15.5 miles/25 km
Speed Supersonic