MBDA, The Royal Navy’s PAAMS (Principal Anti-Air Missile System) has moved closer to service entry as prime contractor MBDA prepares the new advanced naval air defence system for firing trials.
The PAAMS(S) Sea Trials Platform, Longbow, has arrived at the Toulon naval base in the Mediterranean in readiness for the firing trials campaign to verify the full performance of the integrated PAAMS(S) system. The firings will take place at the CELM (Centre d’Essais de Lancement des Missiles ) test range near the Ile du Levant off the French Mediterranean coast. The first full firing will be undertaken in the first half of 2008 with the overall campaign expected to conclude in 2009.
PAAMS is the next generation naval air defence system for self, local and fleet area defence that will equip the Royal Navy’s new Daring class Type 45 destroyers as well as the Horizon and Orizzonte frigates of the French and Italian Navies respectively. The Royal Navy’s PAAMS (S) system differs from the PAAMS (E) selected by France and Italy as it will employ the newly-developed SAMPSON Multi-Function Radar (MFR) radar being built by BAE Systems INSYTE. France and Italy selected the EMPAR MFR, hence the PAAMS (E) configuration.
Nick Neale, PAAMS(S) Project Director, said: “The PAAMS (S) programme is progressing extremely well and we are looking forward with confidence to the trials next year. The firing campaign will benefit from all the experience gained from de-risking activities undertaken to date at MBDA’s PAAMS Integration Facility in Bristol and the Eskmeals development facility in Cumbria (north England), the integration and trials carried out on Longbow and the integration with the ship combat system carried out at the BAE Systems’ Maritime Integration & Support Centre (MISC) at Portsmouth”, he said.
Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, said: “PAAMS(S) is well placed to benefit from the successful firings of MBDA’s Aster 15 and 30 missiles under the Franco-Italian SAAM naval air defence system, SAMP/T ground-based air defence system and PAAMS (E) system (for which the final qualification firing took place in May 2007). We are moving ever closer to the date when both versions of PAAMS will be in service, providing what is undoubtedly the world’s best naval air defence system of its type”.
All the PAAMS (S) system elements have been set to work on the first of class Type 45, HMS Daring, and deliveries of PAAMS equipment to the second Type 45, HMS Dauntless, are complete.
Background Information
MBDA is the prime contractor for PAAMS, a 360° omni-directional system providing multi-layer air defence to armed fleets or groups of unarmed support and merchant ships. It incorporates three separate mission capabilities in a single naval air defence system – ship self-defence for protection of the PAAMS warship; local area defence for nearby ship defence; and medium and long-range air defence. PAAMS has been designed to provide optimum protection against omni-directional and co-ordinated attacks from sub- or supersonic missiles, aircraft and high value UAVs.
PAAMS comprises a Multi Function Radar (MFR), a sophisticated Command and Control sub-system (C2), and a dual missile Vertical Launch Sub-system (VLS) containing a combination of 48, ready-to-fire Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles. PAAMS is supported by a Long Range Radar (LRR) for long-range surveillance. Depending on the threat, the combination of the Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles enables PAAMS to fire in any configuration from the PAAMS Sylver A50 launcher providing an near-impenetrable defence envelope day or night, even in cases of extreme electronic countermeasures and in all weather conditions.
The PAAMS (S) system SAMPSON MFR contributes to the area defence around the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 destroyer and the accompanying fleet, detecting all types of targets out to a distance of hundreds of kilometers and providing up-link messages to the Aster missiles to neutralise threats to the fleet. The radar is capable of tracking hundreds of targets at any one time and will provide a significant step improvement to the current capability of Royal Navy ships.
Work on Longbow for PAAMS started in 2003 with its tow to Portsmouth Naval Dockyard. Longbow has been used for an extensive programme of system integration culminating in a successful programme of sea trials in UK waters over the summer and early autumn. There will now follow a period of “alongside” range integration activities before connection to the mooring at the CELM test range near the Ile du Levant in the next few weeks.
With an annual turnover exceeding EUR 3 billion, a forward order book of over EUR 13 billion and over 70 customers world-wide, MBDA is a world-leading, global missile systems company. MBDA is jointly owned by BAE Systems (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and Finmeccanica (25%).
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