MBDA has recently performed a successful qualification firing of the Italian Army’s new-generation air defence system, which is based on the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile – Extended Range (CAMM-ER), the company announced on 8 May 2024.
Known as the Grifo system and a member of the CAMM-based Enhanced Modular Air Defence Solutions (EMADS) family developed by MBDA, the system will be used by the Italian Army to give an extended-range capability to its short-range air defence (SHORAD) network.
The trial was a major milestone, as for the first time the Grifo system’s Command Post and Engagement Module (PCMI – Posto Comando Modulo di Ingaggio) was tested and qualified, integrated with missile launcher and CAMM-ER missile. The test was carried out against a target drone simulating an attack by an enemy aircraft, confirming the defence capabilities and performance of both the missile and the entire system in an integrated mode.
MBDA is the design authority of the entire system and key subsystems such as the PCMI (which includes an MBDA command-and-control (C2) system integrated with a Rheinmetall Italia X-TAR3D radar and a Leonardo identification friend or foe (IFF) system), the launcher and the CAMM-ER missile.
During the test the PCMI detected the target drone, which was in an attack mode, and proceeded to identify and classify the type of threat, evaluate the type of defence to deploy and launch a CAMM-ER to successfully neutralise it. The trial also verified the correct functioning of the two-way datalink between the CAMM-ER and the Grifo ground system.
The success of this qualification is the result of the joint work of the integrated Italian and UK teams of MBDA, together with the Italian customer, MBDA noted.
The CAMM-ER is the extended-range version of the new-generation CAMM family jointly developed in the United Kingdom and Italy for land and naval air defence.
“The CAMM family can be easily integrated with a customer’s choice of radar and C2 system to form an Enhanced Modular Air Defence Solutions (EMADS),” MBDA stated. “It will also replace the Aspide in the Medium Advanced Air Defence System (MAADS) of the Italian Air Force, successfully qualified last year. CAMM-ER is also integrated into Albatros NG: the new-generation naval based air defence (NBAD) system, already sold abroad, that optimises the naval surface-to-air capabilities of fleets.”
The CAMM-ER, which like the wider CAMM family is vertically launched to provide 360° air defence coverage, is equipped with a state-of-the-art active seeker and a new motor – designed by Italian company Avio Aero – to provide an extended range compared to the standard CAMM missile.
