MBDA signs contract amendment with OCCAR to enhance Italian CAMM-ER-based air defence systems

Missile house MBDA has signed a contract amendment with Europe’s Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) to increase the technical capabilities of the Italian air defence systems based on the CAMM-ER missile, namely the Italian Army’s Grifo system and the Italian Air Force’s Medium Advanced Air Defence System (MAADS).

The contract, which was announced on 22 May 2024 but actually signed on 17 April, will also see a new multi-role and multi-purpose fire control unit (FCU) developed and designed by MBDA to significantly increase the command-and-control capabilities of the Grifo system. This introduces comprehensive evolutions that have been designed over the past 12 months within the main production contract to strengthen the Italian armed forces’ operational capabilities. The agreement also includes the operational validation and production of the new FCU.

CAMM-ER – the extended-range missile of the new generation CAMM family – was jointly developed in the United Kingdom and Italy for land and naval air defence. Equipped with a state-of-the-art active seeker and a new motor designed by Avio to provide extended range, CAMM-ER was successfully qualified last year and will replace the Aspide missile used by the Italian Air Force’s Spada system and the Italian Army’s Skyguard system.

CAMM-ER is also integrated into MBDA’s Albatros NG: the new-generation system designed to optimise the surface-to-air missile capabilities of warships.

The activity following this new agreement will further enhance the industrial capabilities at MBDA’s Italian sites, especially at Fusaro near Naples, which have already been boosted thanks to recent contracts for CAMM-ER and Aster missiles.