The UK Ministry of Defence is purchasing six Land Ceptor medium-range missile launchers for £118 million, doubling the number of deployable Sky Sabre launchers. Sky Sabre integrates radar, command-and-control, and launchers to intercept cruise missiles, aircraft, and drones. The three-year contract will deliver six MRAD Land Ceptor systems for global British Army use; launchers can operate independently or within Sky Sabre. Current UK air defenses rely on a few Typhoon quick-reaction jets, Sky Sabre batteries, and about six Type 45 destroyers with Aster missiles. Critics warn that a dozen systems offer limited coverage given evolving drone and missile threats.
The £118 million ($158 million) purchase will double the number of deployable Sky Sabre systems operated by Britain's armed forces, the MoD said, although critics feel that this is not enough. Sky Sabre is the name for the complete air defense missile system, capable of intercepting cruise missiles, aircraft, and drones. It is made up of three separate components: the radar, the command and control system, and the launcher with its missiles.
But a dozen or so of these air defense systems does not sound like much to safeguard the whole of the UK, especially when the military has deployed two overseas in the Falkland Islands and Poland. A debate in Parliament late last year revealed that the UK's current defense capabilities against air attack are primarily a handful of Typhoon fighter jets on quick reaction alert at RAF Coningsby and Lossiemouth airfields,
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