The ANL, known as the Sea Venom by the Royal Navy, is a 100-kg missile being developed to replace the Sea Skua and the AS-15TT, which although not procured by the French navy was exported to several countries. (DGA photo)
The ANL program is a Franco-British cooperative project under the Lancaster House treaty signed by France and the United Kingdom in November 2010. The ANL missile is intended to equip helicopters in the French Navy and the Royal Navy to combat a wide range of surface threats, from fast, maneuvering boats to corvettes, including in the coastal environment.
It has the "fire-and-forget" mode as well as the "man in the loop" ability to control the weapon up to its impact on the target. The French Navy’s ANLs will principally arm its future Joint Light Helicopter (Hélicoptère interarmées léger, or HIL).
The contract for the implementation of the ANL program was awarded to MBDA on 26 March 2014 by DE & S (Defense Equipment and Support), one of the British counterparts of the DGA.
This project constitutes the first joint program fully implemented under the mutual dependency provisions agreed under the One Complex Weapon initiative to consolidate the Franco-British missile industry around MBDA.
(ends)
Conducted in June, the first firing is a major milestone for the Anglo-French missile; developed to deliver an enhanced capability and replace existing and legacy systems such as the UK-developed Sea Skua and the French-developed AS15TT anti-ship missiles.
The trial of the 100 kg-class missile was conducted from a Dauphin test bed helicopter owned by the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement – the French defence procurement agency).
Frank Bastart, head of the Sea Venom/ANL programme at MBDA, said: “The missile trial was a complete success, and is a proud moment for the company and all those involved in the project. When it enters service Sea Venom/ANL will provide a major increase in capability to the French and UK armed forces.”
Jointly ordered in 2014, the Sea Venom/ANL project has been developed 50/50 between the UK and France and has played a key part in the creation of shared centres of excellence on missile technologies in both countries – a move that will provide significant benefits to both nations.
Paul Goodwin, deputy head of the Sea Venom project, added: “Although a first firing this was in no way a cautious one. The system was pushed to the very edge of its range capability – a bold step showing our confidence in the design maturity and making success all the more sweet. The next step is to exercise the systems’ operator-in-the-loop capabilities.”
In UK service, the missile is planned to be used from the AW159 Wildcat helicopter, while France will operate the missile from its new Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger (HIL). The missile has been designed for use from the widest range of platforms, with air carriage trials having been conducted to demonstrate compatibility of the missile on legacy Lynx helicopters.
BACKGROUND NOTES:
‘Bruiser Loose’ is the NATO codeword for the successful firing of an air-launched anti-ship missile.
Sea Venom is a modern primarily anti-ship missile designed to destroy vessels ranging from FIAC (Fast Inshore Attack Craft), through medium sized FAC (Fast Attack Craft) up to large vessels such as Corvettes from safe stand-off ranges. This missile also has a coastal suppression capability against land targets.
Unlike legacy semi-active radar guided missiles, Sea Venom uses an imaging infrared seeker that offers ‘fire-and-forget’ capabilities in even the most complex littoral environments. The missile has 30 kg-class warhead and a range of around 20 km.
It offers a variety of different flight profiles – including sea skimming – and can be salvo fired. The missile is the natural choice for militaries wishing to replace or enhance their rotary-wing anti-ship capabilities.
Sea Venom is major advance from a technological standpoint. This new system provides very precise effects against a wide range of threats, even in complex environments, thus satisfying a recognised and common future need. A high speed, two-way data-link communicates the images ‘seen’ by the missile’s infrared seeker to the operator, who, in addition to initiating an autonomous engagement, can alternatively remain in control of the missile throughout the full duration of its flight.
This optional, operator-in-the-loop, monitor-and-control facility, enables new capabilities such as: in-flight re-targeting; final aim point correction and refinement; or safe abort.
With a significant presence in five European countries and within the USA, in 2016 MBDA achieved a turnover of 3.0 billion euros with an order book of 15.9 billion euros. With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development. MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25%).
-ends-
from Defense Aerospace - Press releases http://ift.tt/2tmy7qa
via Defense
No comments: