A £36-million contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been placed with MBDA for the land variant of the future local area air defence system (FLAADS Land). This will fund an assessment phase that will demonstrate the adaptation and evolution of core weapon system subsystems (e.g. command and control) for the land environment, and prepare for the transition from Rapier field standard C (FSC) in British Army service. The FLAADS Land System will provide the British Army with a world leading ground-based air defence (GBAD) system that will be one of the most advanced and capable in its class, providing operational, logistical and cost benefits.

At the heart of the FLAADS Land System is MBDA’s common anti-air modular missile (CAMM) and its weapon command and control system, contracted for installation onto the Royal Navy’s (RN) Type 23 Frigates as Sea Ceptor. This approach leverages the existing investment to deliver the MoD with an affordable but highly capable air defence system for both the Army and Royal Navy, with a shared support and future upgrade path across both services.

The opportunity to exploit a CAMM based air defence system on land and sea also provides potential international customers with the opportunity to share in the benefits that the UK is reaping from the multi-service adoption of the missile.