Royal Marines tests LMM against Banshee
The Royal Marines has tested Thales’ Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) against aerial targets during an exercise in south Wales.
Air Defence Troop of Plymouth-based 30 Commando IX Group was the first sub unit to use the new LMM, testing it against a Qinetiq Target Systems Banshee aerial target at the Air Defence Range Manorbier in southwest Wales.
From a platform looking out to sea, the commandos used the laser-guided missiles to accurately hone in on their targets.
The missiles are fired from a small shoulder launcher, and the operator guides them using a joystick which controls a laser beam on which the projectile flies, travelling over distances of some 6km if required.
‘It gives us more utility across the battlefield and gives the brigade a different option,’ Capt James O’Rourke, Officer Commanding of Air Defence Troop, said.
The marines say thatLMM travels at half the speed of its predecessor, the High Velocity Missile that is currently used by the marines and Royal Artillery, providing greater accuracy against the targets.
‘It means we can start enabling attacks on targets that won’t be able to see us. It’s got a laser beam system as well and it’s a passive system so we won’t be spotted by the enemy when we pull the trigger,’ O’Rourke added.
Air Defence Royal Marines is the first sub unit to use this missile, and so far, 18 successful shots against the Banshee drone have been carried out.
‘I think in the future we’ll be attached to close combat rifle companies, pushing forward and potentially targeting unmanned aerial systems and unmanned aerial vehicles in the skies as opposed to sticking with fixed-wing rotary targets,’ O’Rourke added.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
DSEI 2025: Thales creating new remote weapon station and Storm 2 counter-drone jammer
Thales launched Storm-H in 2012 as an EW system equipping individual dismounted troops, and a decade later revealed details to develop the improved and more powerful Storm 2.
-
Denmark shuns US platform as it settles on SAMP/T air defence system
The acquisition, which is part of the country’s broader defence package worth DKK58 billion (US$9.2 billion), goes against the grain with many other European countries opting for the US’s popular Patriot platform.
-
In depth: Competition for British Army vehicle programme heats up, despite more delays
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) seems set to be delayed once again but industry is jockeying for position to partner in what would be one of the biggest ever buys for the British Army.
-
DSEI 2025: AM General has partner lined up for British Army vehicle programme
AM General’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) A2 is in low-rate initial production and the company is looking for export orders, notably the UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP), to add to a recent approval for Canada to buy vehicles.
-
DSEI 2025: IDV sets eyes on British Army vehicle deal as MD calls for “acceleration” of efforts
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) to replace thousands of vehicles is in flux as the tender for the Light Mobility Vehicle segment planned for November is set to be missed. IDV Robotics’ Dr Geoff Davis is calling for the UK government to focus broadly on indigenous capability for procurement and to do it faster.