The Royal Navy said its Wildcat HMA2 helicopters and the Martlet lightweight multirole missile successfully engaged a variety of uncrewed aerial and surface targets during Exercise Wildfire, a four-day French-led maritime exercise held from 29 September to 2 October, the Royal Navy stated.
The exercise paired the French strike group, including destroyers Forbin and Lorraine and Rafale aircraft, with the Royal Navy’s Wildcat Maritime Force from 815 Naval Air Squadron to run air-defence serials against challenging target sets, according to the Royal Navy.
Trials followed earlier live firings at Aberporth in Wales and a demanding sequence of engagements off the French Mediterranean coast near Hyères.
The Royal Navy said the Wildcat detected and engaged small fast fixed wing UAS and surface targets. In a highlighted engagement, a Wildcat launched a Martlet to intercept an Alba small UAS, destroying the target and protecting the French destroyers on the range. The service added that the Martlet has now been declared fully operational following the autumn test programme and that Sea Venom, the heavier anti-ship missile for Wildcat, recently reached initial operating capability.
Lieutenant Commander Rhydian Edwards, Officer in Command of the Operational Advantage Group Wildcat Maritime Force and resident experimental test pilot, described the difficulty of the aerial target, saying in the Royal Navy news update:
“Destroying the Albas was like trying to kill a fly with a laser-guided dart.” He later told colleagues the trials had produced data that would “greatly increase our understanding of the Wildcat’s weapon systems, allowing us to ensure that they can be employed to maximum lethality as demonstrated against air and surface targets alongside our UK and international partners on Exercise Wildfire.”
The Royal Navy said hundreds of Martlet rounds were delivered to Ukraine under a UK gifting programme and that an export deal will see missiles supplied to India, with UK employment benefits cited by the service. The release described Martlet as capable of accelerating to roughly one and a half times the speed of sound during flight, a performance detail stated by the Royal Navy.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard was quoted in the update as saying the missile “represents another significant leap forward in our capabilities and by supporting hundreds of UK jobs, shows how defence is an engine for growth while making Britain safer”.
Commander Andrew Henderson, commanding officer of the Wildcat Maritime Force, summed up the trials as a chance to validate tactics and hardware against realistic threats, saying “testing and validating our aircraft against realistic targets in challenging environments ensure that we capture vital data.”
Marlett could have been essentially tailor made for a future drone infested littoral, with the wildcat able to carry 20 missiles it really is a great combination against swarm attacks by drones. It’s a shame the T26 cannot take a wildcat and merlin easily at the same time.
Ukraine?
Is a land-based launcher available for Martlet? It would be good in Ukraine.
It’s already in use in Ukraine, having been integrated with the Stormer air defence vehicles we sent them a while back. There’s also a shoulder-launched variant in service in Ukraine. Reportedly they like it, but it’s nothing special. Good for drones, but Starstreak does a better job against the helicopters.
Yes its the same lauchers at starstreak iirc
Yes there was film first released about a year+ ago of a shoulder launched Martlet bringing down a drone in Ukraine when no official delivery had been admitted. Interchangeable with Starstreak on launchers and somewhat easier to use (if less lethal as you say) from shoulder launched versions which u like the Stormer version needs a fair amount of training. So Martlet is a very good option for lesser targets and still effective beyond that it seems.