UK Royal Navy Wildcat fires Sea Venom anti-ship missile
The Sea Venom missile can also be used for coastal suppression. (Photo: Crown Copyright)
The Wildcat is fitted with .50cal gun and carries Stingray torpedoes and Marlet lightweight missiles. Sea Venom substantially boosts the platform’s punch.
A UK Royal Navy Wildcat HMA Mk2 attack helicopter has completed the first guided firing of an MBDA Sea Venom anti-ship missile, substantially increasing the capability of the aircraft.
The firing took place at the Aberporth range in Wales and was against a target vessel consisting of of three containers atop a barge. The target was designed and built by QinetiQ and each container wall had multiple individually controlled heating elements to simulate a target more accurately.
Lt Com Robin Kenchington, from the Royal Navy’s test and evaluation squadron 744 Naval Air Squadron, said: “Every aspect of the firing worked well.
“The Wildcat has another potent addition to its arsenal, increasing the ability of front-line crews to fight from a greater stand-off distance; this maximises their lethality whilst keeping them safe from enemy defences,” he added.
The Wildcat can already fire Sting Ray torpedoes for defeating underwater threats and lightweight Martlet missiles for attacking boat swarms or small ships but previously had been unable to act against larger warships such as corvettes.
Sea Venom is primarily anti-ship missile designed to destroy a range of attack craft up to large vessels from safe stand-off ranges at up to 20km away.
The missile has a 30kg warhead and coastal suppression capability, meaning it can hit shoreline targets, destroying potential threats to warships operating nearby. It can operate in a range of profiles, including sea skimming, and can be fired in a salvo.
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