Page 18 - ADT MAY-JUNE 2022 Online Magazine

Sea

Strike [ MISSILE SYSTEMS ]

ADVANCES IN MARITIME STRIKE to the first contract inked in 2016 with the objective to enhance
MISSILES WILL REQUIRE A the SAMP/T systems which were operational with the French Air
and Space Force and the Italian Army.
RETHINK ON SHIPBORNE
MISSILE DEFENCES The SAMP/T NG is designed to achieve all Ground-Based Air
Defence (GBAD) missions with enhanced key capabilities. The
Atul Chandra long range air defence system will be able to operate in a dense
civilian air environment, in cooperation with friendly military aircraft
and be fully integrated into air defence networks. In addition to
The sinking of the flagship of Russia’s Black providing 360-degree protection to armed forces and sensitive
Sea Fleet, the Moskva by Ukrainian Neptune civil or military sites, it will have the ability to simultaneously defeat
anti-ship missiles (AShM) in April, brought all types of targets, in any combination of types. Importantly, the
into sharp focus the vulnerability of warships SAMP/T NG will be able to counter emerging and future threats as
against such weapons. The Moskva was well diverse as manoeuvring ballistic missiles, re-entry vehicle ballistic
protected, with two layers of shipborne mis- missiles, high-speed tactical missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles
sile defences and AK-630 Gatling guns for last (UAV) and highly manoeuvring aircraft, in a saturation attack sce-
ditch defence against missiles that got through. nario and a challenging cyber environment. The SAMP/T NG air
Despite these defences the Cruiser was dam- defence system, will feature an upgraded launcher featuring new
aged by the Neptune and later sank, delivering electronic equipment, receive a new multifunction rotating Active
a major blow to Russian morale. Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar along with a new com-
mand and control module based on upgraded open command and
To cater for newer generation anti-ship mis- control software architecture and enhanced connectivity.
siles, navies are now introducing and operating
advanced air defence systems on combat ves- The SAMP/T NG will use MBDA’s Aster B1 NT (new technology) new
sels as survivability against AShM missiles is generation missile for land and naval air defence. The advanced air
key. Warships are also becoming stealthier and defence and antiballistic missile will receive specific enhancements
using advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) capa- (new seeker, new computer) to cope with new threats. Belonging
bilities, such as active expandable decoys. The to the ASTER family, the new ASTER B1 NT is slated to enter into
improvements in shipborne defences will mean service starting from 2026/27. The Aster B1 NT’s performance pairs
that AShMs will require various capabilities with other MBDA missiles, such as the CAMM family of missiles,
such as speed, discretion, optimised trajec- which includes the new CAMM ER under development for naval
tories and terminal manoeuvres to penetrate and ground-based air defence, or the VL MICA family, with its
enemy air defences. latest member the VL MICA NG (New Generation). Either of these
missiles can be combined with ASTER to create a single optimal
air defence system.
New Generation Defence
Navies looking to defend their maritime combat
assets could turn to a new generation of naval Aerial Interceptor
and land systems, including the SAMP/T MBDA’s VL MICA NG system is based on the integration of the
NG, whose development was contracted MICA NG missile into the existing VL MICA point and close area
to Eurosam (the Franco-Italian consortium air defence system. Officially launched in October 2020, MBDA
belonging to MBDA France, MBDA Italia and has already received a contract from the Egyptian Navy for the VL
Thales) by the French and Italian Armed Forces MICA NG. The VL MICA air defence system, itself has been a very
in May, last year. The contract for development successful product family for MBDA, with orders from 15 land and
of the SAMP/T NG for France and Italy added naval forces around the globe. Development of the VL MICA NG

18 | May/June 2022 WWW .GBP .COM.SG/ ADT