MBDA awarded 1st contract for new Albatros NG missile system

MBDA has been awarded the first contract for Albatros NG, a brand new CAMM-ER-based air defense system, MBDA announced with a press release. From an undisclosed international customer, this first-order marks a further validation of the CAMM air defense family’s broad appeal on the global marketplace and paves the way to further acquisitions by the same customer and other Navies.

Albatros NG is a new generation Naval Based Air Defence (NBAD) system, based on the CAMM-ER, the extended-range variant of the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) family already delivered to customers around the world for both ground-based and naval air defense.

Under the terms of this recent order, Albatros NG will be in service in 2024.

Albatros NG, deriving its name from the legacy Albatros systems, which have been in service with the Italian Navy and several export customers for years, is suitable for different kinds of vessels providing air defense capability for platforms ranging from patrol vessels and corvettes to destroyers. It also allows a complementary layer for larger vessels such as frigates and destroyers already equipped with a long-range air defense system. Without significant changes in the ships’ design, its Command & Control (C2) is designed to enable flexible integration with new and existing naval Combat Management Systems (CMS).

The CAMM-ER missile can provide self and local area defense against the evolving airborne threat at ranges exceeding 40km; it will be integrated with the new ground-based air defense systems for the Italian Army and Italian Air Force. CAMM family systems have already been delivered to the British Army, the Royal Navy, and several export nations.

Air defense systems utilizing the CAMM and CAMM-ER missiles can provide armed forces with advanced protection against the ever-evolving air threat, including manned and unmanned aircraft, precision-guided munitions, terrain-following/sea-skimming missiles, and low radar cross-section (RCS) targets; all in the presence of the latest countermeasures.

Albatros Missile:

Albatros is a well-proven, all-weather, and highly ECM resistant naval system designed to counter aircraft, UAVs, helicopters at sea, as well as sea-skimming and diving anti-ship missiles and PGMs.

The system is available with three versions of the launcher (four, six, and eight cells) to suit ship fitting requirements.

Two missile versions can be supplied with the system:

• the standard ASPIDE for point defense
• the ASPIDE 2000 for local area or consort ship defense.

The Continuous Wave (CW) transmitter provides the RF power necessary for the missile guidance that is radiated towards the targets through the Fire Control System tracker antenna.

The system is in service in 16 countries worldwide, on various warship classes, from OPVs up to destroyers and aircraft carriers.

• Length: 3.7 m
• Diameter: 234 mm
• Range: In excess of 25 km
• Speed: High supersonic