The CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) is a family of

surface-to-air missile 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 ...

s developed by

MBDA UK MBDA UK is the British division of the pan-European missile systems company MBDA (itself a joint venture of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo). Formed in 2001, the company has produced a range of missile systems, including the CAMM missile fami ...

for the United Kingdom. CAMM shares some common features and components with the

ASRAAM The Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), also known by its United States designation AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing (heat seeking) air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA UK, that is designed for close-range combat. It is in ...

air-to-air missile, but with updated electronics and an

active radar homing Active radar homing (ARH) is a missile guidance method in which a missile contains a radar transceiver (in contrast to semi-active radar homing, which uses only a receiver) and the electronics necessary for it to find and track its target aut ...

seeker. As Sea Ceptor, CAMM is replacing the Sea Wolf missile on

Type 23 frigate The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonly known as the Duke class. The first Type 23, , was commission ...

s 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 A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impor ...

missile in

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

service. The system is also contributing to the updating of MBDA's ASRAAM in service with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Development

The Common Anti-Air Modular Missile has its roots in a Technology Demonstration Programme (TDP), jointly funded by

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles.MBDA Inc. US Division Cor ...

and 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 states ...

(MoD) as part of the United Kingdom's Future Local Area Air Defence System (FLAADS). FLAADS is part of a wider UK 'Team Complex Weapons' programme to deliver a variety of weapons and maintain UK sovereign capability in this area. FLAADS is intended to deliver a common weapons platform, the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), to equip forces in the air, land and maritime environments. During the early stages of the FLAADS programme, requirements were identified for the new missile to meet both current and anticipated threats, namely "airborne targets which are typified by high speed, rapid evasive manoeuvres, low signatures and advanced countermeasure " Phase 1 of the TDP worked on technologies for soft vertical launch, the low-cost active radar seeker, a dual-band two-way datalink and a programmable open systems architecture. Phase 2 began in 2008 and covered the manufacture of flight-worthy subsystems, mid-course guidance firings and captive airborne seeker trials on a Qinetiq

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

experimental aircraft. The Soft Vertical Launch was proven over a series of trials, culminating in a successful truck launch in May 2011. In January 2012 the MoD awarded MBDA a £483 million contract to develop FLAADS (Maritime) to replace Sea Wolf missiles on

Milestones

* In January 2012, MBDA and the Ministry of Defence announced a contract worth £483 million to fully develop the maritime application of CAMM known as Sea Ceptor for the Royal Navy. * In October 2013, the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

selected CAMM to equip their

Anzac-class frigate The ''Anzac'' class (also identified as the ''ANZAC'' class and the MEKO 200 ANZ type) is a ship class of ten frigates; eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). During the 1980s ...

s and . * In August 2014, the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...

emerged as a potential export customer for CAMM to equip their Type 23 frigates. * In November 2014, the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious warf ...

selected CAMM to equip their future ''Tamandaré''-class frigates. * In January 2015, the Ministry of Defence announced that it had signed a development and manufacturing deal with MBDA in late December 2014. * In May 2016, the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

selected CAMM-ER to equip their future

F110-class frigate The F110 class, also known as the ''Bonifaz'' class, are a multi-purpose, anti-submarine class of Aegis combat system-fitted heavy frigates under construction for the Spanish Navy. The project is being co-developed by the Spanish Ministry of De ...

s. Later in 2018 the missile lost against RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile Block II * In September 2017, the first Sea Ceptor missile was successfully fired at sea from the Type 23 frigate, HMS ''Argyll''. * In July 2021 it was reported that Sky Sabre had started acceptance trials and training with the Royal Artillery. It was planned to deploy the system in the Falkland Islands in "late summer/early autumn". * In March 2022 the Secretary of State for Defence announced that Sky Sabre would be deployed to Poland, in response to concerns of further aggression from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

Operational history

United Kingdom

Sea Ceptor entered operational service with the Royal Navy in May 2018, with being the first

to deploy with the system. Land Ceptor was delivered to the British Army as part of the Sky Sabre air defence system in December 2021, before being declared operational in January 2022. During the same month, its first deployment was announced to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

to replace the existing

Rapier missile Rapier is a surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army to replace their towed Bofors 40/L70 anti-aircraft guns. The system is unusual as it uses a manual optical guidance system, sending guidance commands to the missile in flight over ...

batteries. In March 2022, the UK announced it would be deploying the Sky Sabre missile system to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to bolster NATO's Eastern flank following 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. An ...

Characteristics

CAMM is a point defence and local area defence missile designed to respond to sophisticated missile and aircraft attacks.^{/sup> MBDA states that CAMM has a "high rate of fire against multiple simultaneous targets",^{3/sup> providing capabilities comparable to the Aster 15

The Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a Franco-Italian family of all-weather, vertical launch surface-to-air missiles. Additionally, the command and control software reuses over 75% of that developed for the PAAMS

The Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) is a joint programme developed by France, Italy, and the United Kingdom for an integrated anti-aircraft warfare system. The prime contractor is EUROPAAMS, a joint venture between Eurosam (66%) and ...
system. 1/sup>

CAMM has a minimum operational range of less than 1 km and a maximum range greater than 25 km, although IHS Jane's

Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane.
History
Jane's Informati ...
reports that trials have a shown a capability of up to 60 km. These ranges are significantly greater than the 1–10 km range of Sea Wolf and other systems that CAMM will replace. 2/sup> CAMM weighs 99 kilograms (218 lb), is in length, 166 millimetres (6.5 in) diameter and reaches generous supersonic speeds of Mach 3 (or 1,020 meters per second).

CAMM's claimed benefits include:
* Active RF seeker that means there is no need for complex and high-cost fire control/illumination radars
* A two-way datalink.
* A Soft Vertical Launch (SVL) system that offers 360° degree coverage. This uses a gas generator

A gas generator is a device for generating gas. A gas generator may create gas by a chemical reaction or from a solid or liquid source, when storing a pressurized gas is undesirable or impractical.

The term often refers to a device that uses a ...
to eject the missile from its canister, the benefits of which include increased range – by saving all the rocket motor's energy to power the intercept – reduced minimum intercept range, reduced stress on launch platforms, reduced maintenance costs, more compact installations on ships and there being no need to manage the hot gas efflux on board, reduced launch signature, and on land the possibility of firing the missile from wooded or urban areas.
* CAMM comes in its own launch canisters, or alternately can be quad-packed into existing vertical launching system

A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mor ...
s.

CAMM's Extended Range application is known as CAMM-ER and has been under development with MBDA and Avio for the Italian MoD since 2013.^{6/sup> The CAMM-ER (extended range variant) shares the same characteristics of the original CAMM with the exception of a new Avio rocket engine which significantly increases the missile's engagement range, out to 45 km and a slightly adapted missile structure. The missile is 160 kilograms (350 lb) in weight, 4.2 metres (14 ft) in length, 190 millimetres (7.5 in) diameter.

Applications

MBDA states that by purchasing the same missile to meet the air defence needs of both armies and navies, both services are able to utilise a common stockpile that reduces procurement and support costs.

Sea

The maritime application of CAMM is known as Sea Ceptor.

MBDA claims that CAMM has a "wide target set", including the capability to engage small naval vessels, which would give the missile a limited surface-to-surface role. The Anti-Air-Warfare Officer of the Type 23 Frigate HMS ''Westminster'' said after test firings “''Westminster'' managed to explore the real potential of the system during her training and to say it is a real game changer is an understatement. Unlike its predecessor, the system is capable of defending ships other than ''Westminster'' herself. Whether it’s engaging multiple air threats or fast incoming attack craft, Sea Ceptor represents a massive capability upgrade for the Type 23 frigate.”

The maritime application of CAMM-ER is known as Albatros NG.

Land

On land, CAMM is known as Land Ceptor by the British Army and the whole land-based air defence system is known as Sky Sabre. Deliveries to the Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
began in December 2021.

The system has over three times the range of its predecessor Rapier

A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

Impor ...
. This system consists of Land Ceptor missiles,mbda-systems.com/product/camm/ SAAB Giraffe AMB radars and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. ( he, רפאל - מערכות לחימה מתקדמות בע"מ, formerly Rafael Armament Development Authority), ("Rafael" from Hebrew acronym of "Authority for the Development of Armaments" - ) is an Israel ...
Modular Integrated C4I Air & Missile Defense System (MIC4AD), all mounted on MAN

A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
trucks.

For international customers, MBDA markets the 'Enhanced Modular Air Defence Solutions (EMADS).

Air

Originally, the CAMM program aspired to provide Land, Sea and Air launched capabilities, but it was deemed more effective to instead develop CAMM for use for land and sea only, while using the well established ASRAAM short range air-to-air missile to cover the air launched role. However, technologies and components developed for CAMM have been used as part of an upgrade to ASRAAM.

Operators

Current operators

;
* Chilean Navy

The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso.
History

Origins and the Wars ...
- Replaced Sea Wolf on the current Type 23 frigates
;
* Royal New Zealand Navy

The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...
- frigate upgrade.
;
* 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 F ...
- Sea Ceptor was officially declared "in service" with the Royal Navy in May 2018, and the Type 23 frigate fleet is being upgraded from Sea Wolf. Sea Ceptor will also equip the Type 26 frigate

The Type 26 frigate or City-class frigate is a class of frigate being built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, with variants also being built for the Australian and Canadian navies. The programme, known as the Global Combat Ship, was launched ...
s, Type 31 frigate

The Type 31 frigate or Inspiration class, and formerly known as the Type 31e frigate or General Purpose Frigate (GPF), is a planned class of frigate intended to enter service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the 2020s alongside the subm ...
s and Type 45 destroyer

The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or ''Daring'' class, is a Ship class, class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for Anti-aircraft warfa ...
s.
* British Army

The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
- Sky Sabre began entering service with the Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
in January 2022, replacing Rapier

A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

Impor ...
.
;
* Polish Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...
- CAMM was selected as part of Poland's Narew ground-based air defence system in November 2021. In April 2022, Poland bought two CAMM system fire units (1 battery) as a bridge solution until the target version for the Narew program was developed. The set includes a total of 6 iLaunchers (3 per fire unit), 2 ZDPSR Soła radars, Polish command system and transport vehicles, and a supply of missiles.
* On the 4th of October the first fully operational unit anti-aircraft system called "Little Narew" utilizing the CAMM family missiles was handed over to the soldiers of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Zamość

Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021.

...

Future operators

;
* Brazilian Navy

)
, colors= Blue and white
, colors_label= Colors
, march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco''
, mascot=
, equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious warf ...
- CAMM selected to equip the new ''Tamandaré'' class frigates.
* Brazilian Marine Corps )
, colors=Red and white
, colors_label=Colors
, march=
, mascot=
, battles = Invasion of Cayenne (1809) Banda Oriental Conquest (1816)War of Independence (1821–1824)Confederation of the Equator(1824)Cisplatine War(1825–1828)Ragamuffin War(183 ...
: AV-MMA, a CAMM variant, will equip an anti-aircraft version of the Astros II MLRS

Astros II (Artillery Saturation Rocket System) is a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher produced in Brazil by the Avibras company. It features modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 127 to 450 mm (5–17.72 inche ...
.
;
* Royal Canadian Navy

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
- CAMM was selected to equip the Canadian Surface Combatant

The Canadian Surface Combatant, formerly the Single Class Surface Combatant Project is the name given to the procurement project that will replace the and warships with up to 15 new ships beginning in the mid to late 2020s as part of the Natio ...
as a Close-In Air Defence System (CIADS).
;
* Pakistan Navy

ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
has selected CAMM-ER to equip its new MILGEM corvettes.
;
* Italian Army
"The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law"
, colors =
, colors_labels =
, march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...
- CAMM-ER selected to replace Skyguard (Aspide missiles) batteries with PCMI/X-TAR 3D
* Italian Air Force

, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
- CAMM-ER selected to replace SPADA (Aspide missiles) batteries with MAADS/Kronos LND
* Italian Navy

"Fatherland and Honour"
, patron =
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
- CAMM-ER to replace Aster 15 missiles.
;
* Polish Navy - CAMM was selected as Poland's Miecznik class frigate (Type 31 frigate

The Type 31 frigate or Inspiration class, and formerly known as the Type 31e frigate or General Purpose Frigate (GPF), is a planned class of frigate intended to enter service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the 2020s alongside the subm ...
) air defence system in March 2022

See also

* Anti-aircraft warfare

Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes Surface-to-air m ...

* List of missiles

Below is a list of missiles, sorted alphabetically into large categories and subcategories by name and purpose.
Other missile lists
Types of missiles:
* Conventional guided missiles
** Air-to-air missile
** Air-to-surface missile
** Anti-radiat ...

* Hisar
* RIM-162 ESSM

The RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) is a development of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft. ESSM is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. ESSM also has the ab ...

* Barak 8

Barak 8 ( he, בָּרָק, lit. "Lightning"), also known as LR-SAM or as MR-SAM, is an Indo-Israeli jointly developed surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, ant ...

* VL MICA
* Umkhonto (missile)

The Umkhonto (Xhosa language, Xhosa: Spear) is a family of Vertical launching system, vertical launch system, Surface-to-air missile, surface-to-air missiles developed by Denel Dynamics. Umkhonto is designed to be a modern, short to medium-range ...

* VL-SRSAM

References

External links

CAMM (MARITIME APPLICATION)

New Missile system to shield the fleet from air attack
Royal Navy (31 January 2012)

* ttp://www.mbda-systems.com/camm-solution/camm-er/ CAMM-ER (MBDA Systems)
{{UK missiles

Air-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom defence procurement
Naval surface-to-air missiles
Post–Cold War missiles of the United Kingdom
Surface-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
21st-century surface-to-air missiles
Military equipment introduced in the 2010s}

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