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.’