Type 26 Sea Ceptor contract signed
The British Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ships are set to carry the Sea Ceptor air defence system, with a £100 million demonstration and manufacture contract issued to MBDA by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The contract was announced on 4 November.
The contract will run for ten years and covers support to the T26 design as well as the manufacture of the electronics equipment required for the class of eight ships.
Sea Ceptor and its Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) munition is an advanced missile system that will provide the principal air defence of the T26 and nearby ships against advanced airborne threats including sea-skimming anti-ship missiles, fast jets, helicopters, and UAVs.
James Allibone MBDA’s UK sales and business development director, said: ‘This investment in the Sea Ceptor system is going to give the Royal Navy and partner navies outstanding air defence cover. Thanks to the Portfolio Management Agreement with the UK MoD, MBDA is providing a common missile system for both naval and land use thereby significantly reducing the cost that would have been involved in developing separate systems.’
Sea Ceptor is currently undergoing qualification for the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates and the Royal New Zealand Navy’s ANZAC frigates. CAMM will also feature in providing the British Army’s primary ground based air defence capability when it replaces the currently in-service Rapier system.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Defence Notes
-
Industrial capacity under scrutiny as US approves further $8.6 billion Middle East arms sale
The fast-tracked emergency approvals come as the conflict in the Middle East stretches out into its third month, after Iranian attacks depleted US allies’ missile stockpiles and testing air defence systems.
-
Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)
As militaries face an overwhelming flow of data, the challenge is shifting from collection to delivering fast, actionable insights that drive decision-making. Advances in AI and data integration are helping armed forces move beyond siloed systems to generate real-time intelligence across domains and allies.
-
SAHA 2026 to Convene the Global Defence Ecosystem
SAHA 2026 brings global defence and aerospace leaders to Istanbul for partnerships, launches, panels and high-value meetings.
-
Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms
In a partnership with Emesent, Teledyne FLIR will equip its autonomous air, ground and detection systems with the Hovermap LiDAR payload in a move that highlights a broader market shift towards modular architectures, shared payloads and interoperability across platforms.
-
US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors
The Pentagon’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes an impressive increase in the procurement of interceptors, with the number of the US Army’s PAC-3 MSE rounds expanding by 683%, the US Navy’s Standard Missile by 365% and the MDA’s SM-3 IIA by more than 1,000%.
-
US Army partners with Global Military Products to surge munitions production
Global Military Products was selected by the US Army to operate the Quad Cities Cartridge Case Facility and ramp up the production of various calibre shell cases.