Article Posted on : - May 30, 2014

The Sea Ceptor air-defence system. Photo: MBDA.

WELLINGTON (BNS): The New Zealand Ministry of Defence signed a contract on 21st May with MBDA for the provision of Sea Ceptor for the Local Area Air Defence element of the Royal New Zealand Navy's ANZAC Frigate Systems Upgrade (FSU) project.

This contract confirms the selection of the system by the RNZN for its ANZAC frigates that was announced in October 2013.

"This first success in the global market outside the United Kingdom for Sea Ceptor is due not only to its advanced operational and through-life cost advantages, but also to the invaluable support provided by the UK Government and the Royal Navy during discussions with the New Zealand Ministry of Defence," Steve Wadey, MBDA UK Managing Director and Group Executive Director Technical, was quoted as saying in the MBDA news release.

As an active radar system, Sea Ceptor does not require the dedicated tracker/illuminator radars on which semi-active systems depend.

Sea Ceptor deploys the CAMM (Common Anti-air Modular Missile) which, due to its soft launch technology, requires no efflux management system.

This minimises the system's mass and footprint thereby allowing for greater flexibility regarding ship installation positions.

CAMM missile canisters are compatible with a wide range of vertical launch systems.