UK completes first trials of Land Ceptor
The first firing trials of the British Army's Land Ceptor missile system have been carried out near the Baltic Sea on a Swedish test fire range, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on 28 May.
Land Ceptor has been developed by MBDA under a £250 million contract with Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S). The system includes the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM), a launcher vehicle and two fire unit support vehicles. The missile is designed to protect British troops from aerial threats, including hostile combat aircraft and air-launched munitions.
The highly mobile missile system will be assigned to the British Army’s16th Regiment, Royal Artillery. It can be deployed across challenging terrain and be brought into action in less than 20 minutes. The Land Ceptor weapon will provide the stopping power within the Sky Sabre air defence system.
This was the first time Land Ceptor had been test-fired as a whole system, including the SAAB Giraffe radar. The system will now undergo further development and trials before Sky Sabre enters service in the early 2020s.
Richard Smart, director weapons, DE&S, said: ‘This trials firing is an important stepping stone towards bringing Land Ceptor into service with the British Army as part of the wider Sky Sabre air defence system. Land Ceptor performed as expected and the firing has helped us to verify innovative modelling of overall system performance.
‘The DE&S project team, based in Bristol, will continue to work closely with our suppliers to ensure this cutting-edge system provides an effective shield for UK troops as they, in turn, protect the UK’s security and interests.’
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![Norway orders improved NASAMS technology as more countries sign up]()
Norway orders improved NASAMS technology as more countries sign up
The country’s air defence batteries will be equipped with new command posts, wheeled communication nodes and radios. The system itself is in service with more than 14 countries with 13 systems in Ukraine.
-
![Ukraine’s ground robot army still finding its feet]()
Ukraine’s ground robot army still finding its feet
Ukraine’s quest to replace soldiers with robots is hitting technical snags. Shephard spoke with industry leaders about difficulties in the field and what solutions are in the pipeline.
-
![DOK-ING presents CUAS MV-8 armed with Valhalla Mangart 25 turret]()
DOK-ING presents CUAS MV-8 armed with Valhalla Mangart 25 turret
The partnership between Croatia’s DOK-ING and Slovenia’s Valhalla Turrets reflects an effort to combine ground robots and with improved capabilities and new roles and follows Rheinmetall presenting its Ox with Dispatch charging docks from Valinor.
-
![Scorpion light mortar completes tests with US Army and moves to next exercise]()
Scorpion light mortar completes tests with US Army and moves to next exercise
Having completed five days of trials with the US Army, the two Scorpion Light mortar systems will stay in Hawaii to take part in planned Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training exercises in early November.
-
![EOS improving Slinger CUAS role as industry pushes forward]()
EOS improving Slinger CUAS role as industry pushes forward
EOS Defence Systems officially launched its Slinger anti-drone system in 2023. The system features a remote weapon station, visual sensors and a Northrop Grumman 30mm cannon with specially designed ammunition, combined with EOS’s stabilisation and pointing technology.
