The Royal Navy Successfully Test Fires New Anti-Ship Sea Venom Missile From Helicopter

The Royal Navy’s maritime attack helicopters will soon pack an even bigger punch after a milestone firing of a new missile designed to destroy enemy warships and attack craft.
The Wildcat HMA Mk2 can already fire Sting Ray torpedoes for hitting underwater threats and lightweight Marlet missiles for taking out boat swarms or small ships.

But, so far, the Wildcats have not been able to target larger warships, like corvettes.

The Royal Navy has now completed the first guided firing of the anti-ship Sea Venom missile – which packs ten times the punch of Martlet, with the design of destroying more heavily armoured ships – on a target vessel at the Aberporth range in Wales.

Lieutenant Commander Robin Kenchington, from the Royal Navy’s test and evaluation squadron 744 Naval Air Squadron, said: “It was fantastic to see a full end-to-end demonstration of the missile.

“Every aspect of the firing worked well – from the ease-of-use in-cockpit for crews, through the performance of the missile in flight, right up to the accuracy on the target.

“The Wildcat has another potent addition to its arsenal, increasing the ability of front-line crews to fight from a greater stand-off distance; this maximizes their lethality whilst keeping them safe from enemy defences.”

The target vessel was designed and built by QinetiQ engineers, made of three containers atop a barge. Each container wall had multiple individually controlled heating elements to simulate a target more accurately.

The firing marks a significant milestone in the integration of Sea Venom onto Wildcat, which will add to the potent array of weaponry protecting Royal Navy warships, namely the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Pete Fawcett, the Senior Responsible Owner of the Future Air-to-Surface Guided Weapon, said: “This first guided firing is a significant step forward for the integration of Sea Venom onto the Royal Navy’s Wildcat helicopters.

“The success of the trial was the result of an outstanding team effort across Leonardo UK, MBDA, QinetiQ and the Ministry of Defence.”

To read more, please visit the Royal Navy's website.