Mbda, this is how the Camm-Er program is proceeding
The Camm-Er missile program of Mbda, a European consortium between Airbus and BAE Systems (37.5% each) with a 25% shareholder Leonardo, has entered into production. The Camm-Er is the longest-range missile in the next-generation Camm family of air defense systems.
After several hesitations, the Camm-er program went into production.
Theprogram for the modernization and renewal of the short-medium range air defense capability through the development and approval of the Camm-Er missile ammunition of Mbda, a company owned by Bae Systems (37.5%), Airbus Group (37.5 %) and Leonardo-Finmeccanica (25%), was immediately characterized by indecision, stop and go and political doubts. But now it seems like water under the bridge.
“The Camm-ers have entered production”, Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo told Corriere earlier this month. "They will help rebuild arsenals in Europe, which have been declining following the war in Ukraine." For the new anti-aircraft missiles produced by Mbda, Avio supplies the engines.
On 28 November 2022, Matteo Bisceglia, director of Occar-Ea, and the then managing director of Mbda Italia, Lorenzo Mariani ( now Leonardo's co-director ), signed the production contract for the Camm-Er systems (Common Anti- Air Modular Missile – Extended Range) on behalf of Italy.
Therefore, Italy will acquire the short-range/extended SHORAD (SHORAD/Extended SHORAD) air defense capability through the acquisition of a missile system, based on the Camm-Er ammunition, in two variants: MAADS (Modular Advance Anti-Air System) for the Air Force and Grifo for the Italian Army.
All the details.
THE CAMM-ER PROGRAM
In 2017, the then Gentiloni government launched a multi-year military modernization program for the purchase of Camm-Er missiles, with an expenditure forecast of 545 million euros by 2031.
This is a multi-year program resulting from the collaboration between the company MBDA Italia and MBDA UK, aimed at modernizing and renewing the short-medium range air defense capability, through the development and approval of the Camm-Er ammunition missile and its integration into certain Air Force and Army systems.
Mbda is a company owned by Bae Systems (37.5%), Airbus Group (37.5%) and Leonardo-Finmeccanica (25%) and makes use of the Joint Advanced Ammunition Center (Cima) of the La Spezia-Aulla Navy and the Mbda production center in Fusaro.
The goal is to replace the systems in service based on the Aspide missile, out of service since 2021, which have been in operation for about forty years with the Air Force, and in the Grifo system of the Italian Army with more up-to-date air defense systems. Furthermore, the Camm-Er is also integrated into the Albatros NG naval system, already sold abroad, to optimize the naval based air defense (NBAD) capabilities of the fleets.
THE FEATURES OF THE MISSILE
The Camm-Er is considered particularly effective for countering classic aerial threats such as Air Breathing Threats (ABTs) – such as ramjets or turbojets that require the introduction of air for fuel combustion – anti-radiation missiles, UAS and others.
“Even the almost double range of the missile compared to its predecessor (more than 45 km compared to the 25 km of the Aspide) is seen as an advantage that allows to identify and eliminate threats from the sky at a greater distance, with a double benefit in terms of reaction times and downing of the target furthest from its objective where friendly military or civilian personnel are likely to be found", reads a recent paper edited by the IAI entitled "Close Air Defence: operational and technological developments".
THE HURRYING (LATER OVERCOME) OF THE COUNT I GOVERNMENT
The implementation of the Camm-Er program had been seriously endangered during the Conte I government with the M5S component pressing for its downsizing and the League intending to proceed, up to its inclusion in the multi-year programmatic document (Dpp) 2019-2021 c published by the Ministry of Defense and published in July 2019.
In October 2019, the Defense Commissions of the Chamber and the Senate had in fact expressed a favorable opinion on the draft ministerial decree approving the multi-year A/R program no. SMD 35/2019, relating to the development and approval of a short/medium range air defense system (Act No. 122).
Furthermore, among the operational programs of the Dpp 2022-2024, there is a first phase dedicated to the modernization towards the Medium Advanced Air Defense System (Maads) for the Air Force based on the Camm-Er missile, aimed at partially filling the gap left by the obsolescence of the Spada system. On that occasion, the program received a necessary integration of 42 million euros through "required" resources brought by the 2022 Budget Law.
As regards the Shorad Grifo renewal program on the Camm-Er missile, "it has a total forecast requirement of 456.3 million euros, of which a portion of 350 million euros distributed over 10 years is currently financed", reads the Dpp 2022-2024.
THE QUALIFICATION LAUNCH OF THE MAADS SYSTEM USING THE CAMM-ER MISSILE
Lastly, on 5 May, MBDA announced that it had "successfully carried out the qualification launch of the MAADS (Medium Advanced Air Defense System), a new generation medium-range missile defense system developed by MBDA, using the Camm-Er. The new MAADS system will be used by the Italian Air Force for air defense and will actually replace the SPADA system, as a SHORAD (Short Range Air Defence) capability and acquiring new ones, from a Medium Range perspective".
The launch can boast an absolute record: it is the first time that the Detection Center module (BMC4I Sirius with advanced software) integrated with the Camm-Er missile has been tested and qualified. The test was carried out using a radio target which simulated the attack on the launcher of an enemy aircraft, so as to confirm the capabilities and defense performance of both the munition and the entire system in integrated mode.
"The success of this test is the result of the joint work of MBDA's integrated Italian and English teams, with the qualified support of the General Secretariat of Defense and the National Armaments Directorate (Segredifesa)" concluded the MBDA note.
On the occasion of the presentation of the MBDA 2022 results, Mariani had "mentioned for 2023 further production batches of Camm-Er ammunition and related systems for both the Army and the Air Force", as reported by the Defense Analysis .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/mbda-ecco-come-procede-il-programma-camm-er/ on Tue, 30 May 2023 12:15:11 +0000.