Naval Warfare

MBDA Awarded CAMM Missile Order for Royal Saudi Naval Force MMSC Ships

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MBDA to Provide CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) to Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyers
CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile)

MBDA Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $19,626,194 modification to previously awarded undefinitized contract action for the production of the Common Anti-Air Module Missile (CAMM) for the Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSC) ships. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Work is expected to be completed by January 2027. Foreign Military Sales funds for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the amount of $1,205,203 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

The CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) is a family of surface-to-air missiles developed by MBDA UK for the United Kingdom. CAMM shares some common features and components with the ASRAAM air-to-air missile, but with updated electronics and an active radar homing seeker. As Sea Ceptor, CAMM is replacing the Sea Wolf missile on Type 23 frigates of the Royal Navy since 2018. As Land Ceptor, it is the missile part of the Sky Sabre air defence system, which since 2021 has been replacing the Rapier missile in British Army service. The system is also contributing to the updating of MBDA’s ASRAAM in service with the Royal Air Force.

Utilising an advanced active RF seeker, CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile)’s modular design offers true all weather capability.
Utilising an advanced active RF seeker, CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile)’s modular design offers true all weather capability.(Photo by MBDA)

CAMM is a point defence and local area defence missile designed to respond to sophisticated missile and aircraft attacks. CAMM has a “high rate of fire against multiple simultaneous targets”, providing capabilities comparable to the Aster 15 missile. CAMM has a minimum operational range of less than 1 km and a maximum range greater than 25 km. These ranges are significantly greater than the 1–10 km range of Sea Wolf and other systems that CAMM will replace. CAMM weighs 99 kilograms (218 pounds), is 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) in length, 166 millimetres (6.5 in) diameter and reaches generous supersonic speeds of Mach 3 (or 1,020 meters per second).

On May 22nd 2017, the U.S and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) took major steps to enhance global security and stimulate economic progress in the U.S. and the Middle East. KSA has expressed its intent to procure more than $28 billion worth of Lockheed Martin integrated air and missile defense, combat ship, tactical aircraft and rotary wing technologies and programs. The agreement includes four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) based on the Freedom-class LCS Lockheed Martin’s industry team is building for the U.S. Navy. This was variant was being offered to the Royal Saudi Navy as part of a modernization program of the Saudi navy’s eastern fleet called SNEP II (Saudi Naval Expansion Program).

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