MBDA unveils new Marte Coastal Defence System

MBDA has developed a new coastal defence system based on the Marte missile family called the Marte Coastal Defence System (MCDS). The system is designed to provide maritime coastal traffic surveillance and interdiction to hostile ships in territorial waters.

The system is able to provide monitoring and picturing of sea communication lines; detecting and identifying hostile vessels through the use of active surveillance equipment; receiving target data via data-link; and neutralising hostile vessels by using a new generation of anti-ship missiles.

The MCDS is available with different and flexible configurations depending on customer requirements, and can operate in either a stand-alone mode or integrated within an existing surveillance radar network. Two different missile systems can be used, either the Marte MK2/N for the control of brown waters and Marte ER, for the control of a more expansive sea area.

Each system consists of a Command and Control (C2) module, comprising an ISO standard 12 foot shelter that can be connected via data-link with the upper level surveillance system; a launcher module, comprising up to four firing units that can be mounted on ISO standard trucks, each of which can deploy up to four missiles; and a logistics module, comprising a logistic and support vehicle, plus a variable number of reloading vehicles.