- The UK is buying six Land Ceptor air defence missile launchers, supporting up to 140 jobs across the country and strengthening our national security
- UK buying six new Land Ceptor air defence missile systems to bolster national security and defence.
- New contract with MBDA supports up to 140 jobs across the UK, demonstrating defence’s role as an engine for growth and supporting the Government’s Plan for Change.
- First live firing in the UK of system so accurate it can hit a tennis-ball sized object travelling twice the speed of sound.
- Britain’s air defences are to be strengthened with the purchase of six new surface-to-air Land Ceptor missile systems, the Ministry of Defence has announced.
- The £118 million purchase will secure jobs and growth in the North-West, supporting up to 140 jobs including at manufacturer MBDA’s site in Bolton, Lancashire, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
- The systems will form part of Sky Sabre, a state-of-the-art defence system capable of intercepting cruise missiles, aircraft and drones.
- It is hugely accurate, able to hit a tennis-ball sized object travelling twice the speed of sound. The sophisticated system can also simultaneously control the flight of 24 missiles, guiding them each to intercept separate targets at once.
- The UK is doubling the number of deployable Sky Sabre systems operated by the Armed Forces in a drive to reinforce our air defences.
- The purchase from MBDA will support up to 140 jobs across the UK, including at the site in Bolton, which earlier this year announced an expansion of 700 new jobs. Defence already supports 1,300 jobs at the facility, and over 5,000 more at other MBDA sites, contributing to economic prosperity in the North West and across the UK, and delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
- Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard MP, said:
“We are delivering on the Strategic Defence Review by equipping our armed forces with state-of-the art equipment to help keep us safe. Doubling our deployable Sky Sabre capability will strengthen the UK’s air defences, protect UK forces abroad, and deter our adversaries.” - “Through this investment we are supporting over 100 jobs across the UK, with more to come. We are implementing the government’s Plan for Change with defence as an engine to drive growth, boosting our industrial capacity and national prosperity.”
- The upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will set out how we will further drive defence as an engine for economic growth, building a resilient, high-growth industry and ensuring the defence dividend reaches every part of the UK.
- This three-year contract will deliver six brand new MRAD (medium range air defence) Land Ceptor missile launching systems for use by the British Army at home and anywhere in the world. These launchers can be used on their own and are also a key component of Sky Sabre, a ground-based air defence missile system used to intercept cruise missiles, aircraft and drones. The system is comprised of three main elements: radar, command and control, and missile launcher.
UK Jobs and Air Defences Boost With Purchase of New Missile Launchers
