Sea Ceptor to protect Royal Navy’s new Type 31 frigates

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.

Sea Ceptor is 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 British Army. The CAMM missile family has been selected by a growing list of other nations for both naval and land based air defence.