|
|
| a |
Naval Defense Industry News - UK, New Zealand |
| |
|
| |
| |
| MBDA’s
Sea Ceptor Air Defence System Selected for Royal New Zealand Navy’s
ANZAC Frigate Upgrade |
| |
The
New Zealand MoD has confirmed its preferred tenderers for the Royal
New Zealand Navy’s (RNZN) ANZAC Frigate Systems Upgrade project
to include MBDA as the provider of Sea Ceptor for the Local Area Air
Defence (LAAD) system; subject to the New Zealand (NZ) Government’s
final approval to proceed. Sea Ceptor will equip frigates HMNZ Te Kaha
and Te Mana with the latest generation naval air defence system capable
of protecting not only the host ship but also combined joint allied
forces in the vicinity. |
|
MBDA Sea
Ceptor Missile in flight
(image: MBDA)
|
|
Following
a meeting in Wellington on 4th October 2013, Mr Des Ashton, the NZ MoD
Deputy Secretary of Defence (Acquisition), said: “The primary
objective of the ANZAC Frigate Systems Upgrade project is to restore
the ship’s combat capability and utility to a comparative level
to that of a current generation, new release Combat System. This is
required to counter the combined challenges of an increased level of
threat sophistication coupled with obsolescence of some of the current
systems. We also want to leverage off advances in technology over the
past 20 years and incorporate additional functionality and performance
through the selection of modern Combat System Elements. The LAAD Sea
Ceptor system is a key component of the overall project ensuring that
crucial constituents of the RNZN fleet are best equipped to respond
to the emerging threats and protect not only the frigates themselves
but also high value units in company.”
Commenting on the New Zealand selection of Sea Ceptor, Dr Andrew Murrison
MP, UK Minister for International Security Strategy, said: "The
UK Government is pleased that the New Zealand Ministry of Defence is
pursuing the procurement of Sea Ceptor, the same system that the Royal
Navy has procured for their Type 23s and plans to cross deck onto the
Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The UK is immensely proud of this product
- it is a real example of UK innovation and will form the bedrock of
air defence for the Royal Navy for decades to come. This decision by
New Zealand further demonstrates the strengthening of our maritime security
cooperation." |
|
HMNZS Te
Mana (F111) is one of ten Anzac class frigates
and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
(picture: Benchill)
|
|
Steve Wadey, Managing Director
MBDA UK, said: “I am delighted that New Zealand has selected
Sea Ceptor. The NZ Government’s procurement of Sea Ceptor for
the ANZAC FSU project will be the first export success for this highly
capable weapon system and proof that MBDA is able to meet such challenging
requirements. This success has been supported by the UK Government
during discussions with the New Zealand Ministry of Defence, a cooperation
that will continue through the life of the project.”
The appeal of Sea Ceptor is creating significant interest in a number
of markets around the world and its versatility makes it the ideal
choice for the ANZAC upgrade. As an active radar system, Sea Ceptor
does not require the dedicated tracker/illuminator radars on which
semi-active systems depend. Sea Ceptor deploys the CAMM (Common Anti-Air
Modular Missile) which, due to its soft launch technology, requires
no efflux management system. This minimizes the system’s mass
and footprint thereby allowing for greater flexibility regarding ship
installation positions. CAMM missile canisters are compatible with
a wide range of vertical launch systems.
On the 9th September 2013, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Royal Navy
contracted with MBDA for the manufacture of the Sea Ceptor system
for its frigate fleet. The UK will replace the Seawolf missile system
in their Type 23 frigates with Sea Ceptor before migrating it to their
new build Type 26 frigates.
|
