Arms manufacturer MBDA has signed a contract with Poland to equip its navy’s Miecznik-class frigates with surface-to-air missiles.
MBDA’s Sea Ceptor naval air defense system will be fitted on the Babcock-designed ships, protecting the vessels from modern threats such as supersonic anti-ship missiles and unmanned surface vessels.
The missiles will be used alongside other weapons in MBDA’s Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) family, utilizing Mk41 Vertical Launching Systems for bigger inventory and platform survivability.
Aside from Poland, countries such as Brazil, Canada, and Sweden use the CAMM missiles as their short-range homing capabilities.
Developing CAMM
Announced in 2022 as part of a weapons development deal between Poland and the UK, the CAMM initiative was established as a means to meet the needs of Poland’s advanced ground and naval air defense amid rising tensions in the region.
A 4-billion-pound ($4.89 billion) transfer of technology contract saw Warsaw able to produce over 1,000 of the system’s extended-range variant and more than 100 iLaunchers for its armed forces.
Similarly, Sweden announced that it would also utilize the missiles as part of its Visby-class corvette arsenal.