TUCSON, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- An inside-the-horizon anti-ship missile defense capability has been tested in Britain by business units of Raytheon and the Chemring Group.
The testing involved firing a Raytheon Javelin missile from a Chemring multirole Centurion launcher at the Defense Training Estate on Salisbury Plain in England.
"We're bringing an entirely new dimension to ship self-defense by providing ... sea-based, inside-the-horizon platform protection," said Rick Nelson, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Naval and Area Mission Defense product line. "Chemring's Centurion launcher, when coupled with Raytheon's combat-proven missiles, offers an evolutionary capability to defeat surface threats with this one system-multiple missions technology."
The two companies said last February they were planning development of anti-surface defense capability to counter fast inshore attack. The capability would feature a variety of Raytheon missiles with ranges matched to the intended target.
"The progression towards the full integration of a suite of Raytheon missiles with the Centurion launcher, which can also deploy anti-ship missile countermeasures and anti-torpedo decoys, is a key goal toward the fielding of a multiwarfare discipline protection system that will be eminently suitable for small ships through to major combatants," said Mark Papworth, chief executive of Chemring Group. "This important milestone keeps the program on track to deliver a low-cost, effective and versatile solution."
Details of the testing were not provided.
