Martlet is a lightweight air-to-surface,

surface-to-air A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

, and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is named after a mythical bird from

English heraldry English heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in England. It lies within the so-called Gallo-British tradition. Coats of arms in England are regulated and granted to individuals by the English kings o ...

that never roosts, the martlet. Developed as the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) to meet the UK's "Future Air-to-Surface Guided Weapon (Light)" requirement, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

(MOD) placed an initial order for 1,000 missiles with deliveries due to start in 2013. However, initial operating capability was considerably delayed and took place in 2021 with full operating capability anticipated in 2024. The missile was given the name "Martlet" in British service.

Development

The Lightweight Multirole Missile was initially conceived as Thales' response to the MoD's Future Air-to-Surface Guided Weapon (Light) FASGW(L) requirement. It was designed to be launched from a variety of naval, air and land platforms against a wide range of targets. High precision reduces collateral damage and makes the missile suitable for asymmetric littoral operations. Development began in 2008 and the LMM uses technology from an earlier Thales (formerly Shorts Missile Systems) missile, the

Starstreak Starstreak is a British short-range surface to air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or in heavier systems, manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems), in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ...

. Qualification testing and initial production commenced in late 2011, following an initial contract by the UK Ministry of Defence in April 2011. Thales has conducted successful guidance control firings, including a semi-active laser (SAL) version. The MoD contract was for the design, development, and commissioning of a laser beam rider version of LMM, together with production of an initial quantity of 1,000 missiles. These are operated from the new AgustaWestland AW159 helicopters and the current armoured and light role

ground-based air-defence batteries of

12 Regiment Royal Artillery 12 Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It currently serves in the air defence role, and is equipped with the Starstreak missile. History The regiment was established in 1947 when 7th Regiment, Roy ...

and 106th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery. Thales graphics show helicopters carrying twin seven-round launchers. These were to enter service in 2015 but were considerably delayed. The contract was eventually funded by a deal to "re-role previously contracted budgets to facilitate the full-scale development, series production and introduction of the LMM." Thales test-fired an LMM from a Schiebel Camcopter S-100, demonstrating a potential for use from

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controll ...

s (UAVs).

Description

LMM is intended to provide a single family of weapons that can be used in different modes, including: * Maritime – LMM will be carried on the new

AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat The AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat (previously called the Future Lynx and Lynx Wildcat) is a British military helicopter. It is an improved version of the Westland Super Lynx designed to serve in the battlefield utility, search and rescue and a ...

helicopters of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

for use against small surface vessels. ASELSAN of Turkey has developed dedicated mounting systems which can also enable the LMM to be launched from naval platforms such as

fast attack craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defens ...

. * Surface-to-surface – The dual-effect (blast fragmentation and shaped charge) of the LMM's warhead makes it suitable for use against a wide range of ground targets including light/medium armour. * Air-launched – The missile's modular design allows for future development and introduction of alternative warheads and seekers. * Surface-to-air – In July 2019, the Air Defence Troop of 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group tested LMMs in a surface-to-air mode against

Meggitt Banshee The BTT3 Banshee, formerly the Target Technology Banshee & Meggitt Banshee, is a British target drone developed in the 1980s for air defence systems training. Design and development The Banshee was developed by Target Technology Ltd. The compa ...

target drones.

FFLMM/Fury

In July 2014, Thales unveiled a modification of the LMM that turns it into a

glide bomb A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target r ...

, called the FreeFall LMM (FFLMM). Thales partnered with

Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...

to market it as the Fury for the U.S. market, who provides a height-of-burst sensor and electronic safe-and-arm device. The weapon had been in development for 18 months and undergone initial test drops in August 2013. In comparison to the LMM, the FFLMM removes the rocket motor and associated components while keeping the body and control actuators, as well as adding

inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity ...

and GPS navigation, semi-active laser guidance in place of the beam-riding system, and four enlarged fins for increased lift. The bomb is not intended to replace larger munitions, but be used as a smaller and cheaper alternative to self-propelled missiles, with three bombs able to fit on a single

Hellfire missile The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) first developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name '' H ...

rail. It is long, weighs , and uses a dual-effect

shaped charge A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ini ...

and pre-fragmented blast warhead for use against armoured vehicles, small boats, and personnel, with an operational range of when launched at . A potential role for the Fury could be to arm medium intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) UAVs like the

RQ-7 Shadow The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessmen ...

to deal with fleeting or time-sensitive targets.

Surface-to-surface testing

In early 2019 HMS ''Sutherland'' tested a modified mounting for the 30 mm Automated Small Calibre Gun which incorporated a launcher for five Martlet LMMs, by firing four of them at a small speedboat target at the

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 ...

range in Wales. The concept of mounting the missile alongside the Bushmaster cannon was tested just 5 months after the idea's conception. The intended role of the Martlet is to further extend the

Type 23 frigate The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a ship class, class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after List of dukes in the peerages of the British Isles, British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonl ...

's capabilities against small, fast-moving targets beyond the current 30 mm,

general purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered f ...

and Minigun options to provide a long-range "stand-off" ability. As of 2019 it was not clear whether the Royal Navy intends to equip any more Type 23s with the system.

Operational history

In May 2021, the Royal Navy deployed Martlet missiles for the first time as part of UK Carrier Strike Group 21. The missiles were carried by Wildcat HMA2 helicopters, four of which were deployed as part of the strike group. The missiles were fired operationally for the first time in October 2021. The missile has been used by the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...

to shoot down multiple Russian aircraft during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

. They have been launched from MANPAD shoulder launchers and also from the Alvis Stormer armoured air defence vehicle. The systems were donated by the UK as part of a package of military aid. The missile was used by a Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter to strike a retired US Navy frigate during a

SINKEX A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used as a seaborne target for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing. Targets may be used with the intention of testing effectiveness of specific types of ammunit ...

in September 2022 — the first time the missile had been used to strike a realistic target at sea, as opposed to purpose-built targets.

Operators

* - 1,000 missiles on order, deployed operationally with helicopters since May 2021 * - Appeared being used in the surface-to-air role by Ukraine forces during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

* - Ordered on June 2014. Unknown numbers.

References

External links

Britain orders 1,000 Thales LMM missiles

(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lightweight Multirole Missile Guided missiles of the United Kingdom United Kingdom defence procurement Military equipment introduced in the 2020s