Firing trials of Royal Navy's new Sea Ceptor missile completed | World Defense

Firing trials of Royal Navy's new Sea Ceptor missile completed

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Firing trials of Royal Navy's new missile completed
20 Dec 2017
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The new missiles were test fired on the Hebrides Rocket Range

The first firing trials of the Royal Navy's new air missile defence system have been completed successfully, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The Sea Ceptor missiles were launched on Scotland's Hebrides Rocket Range from HMS Argyll, a Type 23 frigate.

The weapons can intercept and destroy enemy missiles travelling at supersonic speeds.

Sea Ceptors are to be installed on all Type 23 frigates to protect the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers.

Once installed, the frigates are to carry out trials of the weapons, which are also design for use against helicopters and jets.

HMS Argyll was involved in two sets of trials, each lasting about two weeks.

During the firings the system was first tested against single aerial targets.

This was followed by "more demanding tests", including a single target engaged by two missiles and a twin firing - two targets each engaged by a single missile at the same time.

New record
The crew of HMS Argyll is now preparing for deployment to Japan next year.

The warship is to be part of the UK's contribution to a US-led show of force against North Korea's test firing of ballistic missiles.

Another Type 23 frigate, HMS Sutherland, is due to deploy to Australia in the New Year as part of the same effort.

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The Hebrides Rocket Range, set up in the 1950s, has sites on Benbecula, North and South Uist and a radar station on the remote St Kilda archipelago.

The range offers the largest area in the UK for the live-firing of rockets and missiles.

In the autumn, a new record for the largest and highest object launched into space from the UK was set at the range.

The Terrier Oriole rocket was launched from Benbecula in the Western Isles during Nato exercise Formidable Shield.

The rocket, used by US space agency Nasa and almost 4m (13ft) long, reached an altitude of 155.6 miles (250km).

The Terrier Oriole was used to represent a ballistic missile and was tracked and then destroyed.

Earlier this week, there was criticism from Western Isles political figures about the loss of nine jobs at the range.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-42424716
 

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Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll tests Sea Ceptor missile against multiple targets
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Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll recently carried out a test firing of the Sea Ceptor missile to verify the weapon system upgrade.

The first firings of Sea Ceptor were conducted from HMS Argyll at the Hebrides range off the coast of Scotland and involved firing the system to assess its performance against a range of scenarios.

During the firings the system was first tested against single aerial targets. This was followed by more demanding tests, including a single target engaged by two missiles and a twin firing (two targets, each engaged by a single missile at the same time).

An installation test-firing from HMS Westminster – the second ship fitted with Sea Ceptor – took place in November, with each of the Type 23 ships due to carry out installation test firings in due course.

The new missile defence system will provide UK personnel with a shield against airborne targets – including hostile combat jets and helicopters, as well enemy missiles travelling at supersonic speeds.

Designed and manufactured by MBDA in the UK, Sea Ceptor is being fitted to replace the Sea Wolf weapon system on the Type 23
frigates and will provide the same capability for the Royal Navy’s future Type 26 Frigates.

Sea Ceptor defends escort vessels within a maritime task group, such as for the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, and with HMS Argyll due to deploy to Japan next year, the trials successfully showcased the short range capabilities of the new defence system. Another Type 23, HMS Sutherland, is due to deploy to Australia in the New Year.

The system uses a new UK-developed missile, the Common Anti-air Modular Missile or CAMM, that is capable of reaching speeds of up to three times the speed of sound, and will have the ability to deal with multiple targets simultaneously, protecting an area of around 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometres) over land or sea.

“HMS Westminster managed to explore the real potential of the system during her training and to say it is a real game changer is an understatement. Unlike its predecessor, the system is capable of defending ships other than Westminster herself,” Lieutenant Nick Andrews, HMS Westminster’s anti-air-warfare officer, said.

The results of the firings are now being evaluated by the Royal Navy and results so far show that Sea Ceptor is capable of protecting both the ship which fired it and other ships in its task group, which could include the UK’s two new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers.

https://navaltoday.com/2017/12/20/r...or-missile-against-multiple-targets/?uid=1067
 

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ROYAL NAVY COMPLETES SEA CEPTOR FIRING TRIALS
20/12/2017


The Royal Navy has successfully conducted the final First of Class firing trials of the new Sea Ceptor air defence system – completing the
qualification firings of this cutting-edge new capability for the Royal Navy.

Following on from the first round of trials this summer, the second set of trials from HMS Argyll saw the system tested against more complex scenarios, including rapidly engaging multiple simultaneous threats.

With HMS Argyll having completed development testing of Sea Ceptor, the weapon system is now being rolled out to the Royal Navy’s other Type 23 Frigates. The first of a series of installation test firings has been successfully completed on HMS Westminster. Each Sea Ceptor platform will similarly complete an installation test firing in due course as they prepare to re-join frontline service after their refits.

Sea Ceptor offers a step-change in capability compared with legacy systems like Seawolf, which it is replacing in Royal Navy service. While Seawolf gave Royal Navy warships the capability to protect themselves, with Sea Ceptor the navy’s frigates will now also be able protect other vessels.

Speaking following the success of the trials, Nick Neale, Sea Ceptor Programme Manager at MBDA said: “The performance and capabilities of Sea Ceptor have been fully demonstrated in these outstanding trials by the Royal Navy. Recognising the complexity of the new system, the consistent level of success achieved is quite remarkable and testament to the quality of MBDA’s verification and validation process”.

Sea Ceptor’s missile is called CAMM (Common Anti-air Modular Missile), and its unique features provide the key to this step-change in capability. These include its powerful rocket motor that provides double the range of Sea Wolf, and its active radar-seeker that allows the missile to engage targets without the need for complex and costly target illuminators.

CAMM also makes use of a soft-launch system that uses a gas generator to eject the missile from its canister, the benefits of which include: further increased range by saving all the rocket motor’s energy to power the intercept, reduced minimum intercept range, reduced stresses on the launch platform, significantly reduced maintenance requirements/costs, more compact installation on ship, and removes the need to manage the hot gas efflux on board.

Despite being brand new to the international market, the benefits that CAMM offers have already been widely acknowledged internationally; with a number of international customers having chosen it as the basis for their future local air defence capabilities.

As part of the Portfolio system of co-operation between the UK Ministry of Defence and MBDA, CAMM is also being brought into service as the weapon element of the Land Ceptor system to replace the British Army’s Rapier ground-based air defence systems. By operating a common missile, the UK armed forces will be able to take advantage of significant cost benefits throughout the lifecycle of the systems, including development, procurement, support costs and sharing a completely common stockpile.

http://www.mbda-systems.com/press-releases/royal-navy-completes-sea-ceptor-firing-trials/
 

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