Swedish defense company Saab has received an order from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence for a mid-life extension and support for the Arthur weapon locating system. The order value is 482 million SEK and was booked in Q4 2019. Deliveries of the mid-life extension will take place between 2022 and 2023. The support contract covers 2020-2026. Saab will carry out the work in Gothenburg, Sweden, with support also taking place at 5th Regiment Royal Artillery’s Marne Barracks in Catterick, UK. Arthur is also used by the British Army, under the name Mobile Artillery Monitoring Battlefield Radar, or Mobile Artillery Monitoring Battlefield Asset (MAMBA)
ARTHUR is an acronym for “Artillery Hunting Radar”, is a Counter-battery radar system originally developed jointly for and in close co-operation with the Norwegian and Swedish armed forces by Ericsson Microwave Systems in both Sweden and Norway. It is a mobile, passive electronically scanned array C-Band radar for the purpose of enemy field artillery acquisition and was developed for the primary role as the core element of a brigade or division level counter battery sensor system. The radar is now developed by SAAB Electronic Defence Systems (after EMW was sold to SAAB in June 2006) and Saab Technologies Norway AS.
The UK received the first Arthur systems from Saab in 2003, and the systems have supported operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The upgraded ARTHUR Mod B (MAMBA) requirement for locating guns, mortars or rockets. It can locate guns at 20 – 25 km and 120 mm mortars at 35 – 40 km with a circular probable error of 0.35% of range. MAMBA was successfully used by the British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, with an availability of 90%. The mid-life extension will represent a major programme of obsolescence management by the insertion of modern technology, ensuring that this critical operational counter-fire capability can be sustained on a cost-effective basis through to its extended out-of-service date.
