Sea Venom/ANL FASGW(H) - Program
Sea Venom is the new(ish) name for the Future Air to Surface Guided Weapon – Heavy (FASGW(H)), a replacement for Sea Skua. FASGW (H) ANL, a joint program of the French and UK governments, had been designed to handle the most accurate wide range of threats in complex naval environments, where a tracker precision becomes essential for the success of the launch. The system would also be integrated with a two-way data link, which would allow the operator to monitor and change the targeting of the missile while in-flight, if necessary.
The development of the new tracker started at the end of 2013 thanks to a pre-contract funding by MBDA; Finmeccanica - Selex ES has already delivered to SAGEM the first hardware components and a preliminary mathematical model. The development phase would be immediately followed by a multi-year manufacturing phase.
Finmeccanica - Selex ES produces a wide range of high performance electro-optical seekers that include semi-active lasers, infrared imaging, dual and multimode seekers. Suitable for different types of guided weapons systems, the seekers are in service on many missile systems.
From 1982 until 2017, the Royal Navy’s helicopter-fired anti-ship missile was the Sea Skua. Carried on Lynx helicopters, the Sea Skua had a semi-active homing radar and a range of about 15km. It was the first missile system developed specifically for the Fleet Air Arm and was successfully deployed in both the Falklands conflict and the first Gulf War. Sea Skua’s replacement, which would likely enter service in 2020, is the Sea Venom/ Anti-Navire Léger anti-ship missile.
In March 2014, the UK and French Governments signed a demonstration and manufacture contract which would cover the development of the Sea Venom/ANL until completion, fund the demonstration phase of the programme, and the manufacturing of the missile. The contract was signed by the UK’s Defence Equipment and Support Organisation, acting on behalf of the two governments. The jointly funded contract is worth £500 million and would be managed as part of MBDA’s Team Complex Weapons portfolio. It is thought that a joint project office in Bristol would be staffed by French defence procurement agency (DGA) and UK Defence Equipment & Support personnel and that the contract would result in 200 UK jobs and 200 posts based in France.
In January 2017 it was reported that the first successful test firings of the Sea Venom/ANL anti-ship missile project had taken place. A second successful test-firing took place in April 2018.
The UK and France cooperate actively on armament development, acquisition and support, contributing to more capable and effective forces and improving collective defence capability. Since the Summit, at Sandhurst in January 2018, both ministries of Defence have been working increasingly closely together to extend and deepen equipment and capabilities cooperation.
During Spring 2018 the missile successfully completed its second development firing from a French test helicopter at DGA’s Ile Du Levant test centre in southeast France. Following the trial the UK’s Minister for Defence Procurement said: “The test firing partnership between France and the United Kingdom is another fantastic display of the two nations working together to protect global waters".
MBDA successfully carried out the first qualification firing trial of the Sea Venom/ANL anti-ship missile at the DGA Essais de missiles (DGA EM) test site at Ile Du Levant on 20 February 2020, another significant milestone for the Anglo-French co-operation program. The missile was launched from a Dauphin helicopter close to the minimum release height, reaching its cruise phase while sea skimming at very low height. During its terminal phase, the aircrew used images from the infrared seeker – transmitted through the datalink – to perform a successful manual aim point refinement. The missile has then followed this designated point until hitting the target with a very high degree of accuracy.
This latest firing built on two previous ones that have all tested the missile to the very edge of its capability. The previous firings demonstrated Sea Venom/ANL’s lock on after launch (LOAL) and lock on before launch (LOBL) capabilities. They also validated its low-altitude sea-skimming flight and its autonomous guidance capability using images from its uncooled imaging infrared (IIR) seeker.
Éric Béranger, MBDA CEO, said: “Sea Venom/ANL is the first Anglo-French co-operation programme to take full advantage of our centres of excellence, created following an Inter-Governmental Agreement ratified by both nations’ Parliaments in 2016. MBDA is putting full effort into the successful implementation of the Sea Venom/ANL programme, recognising it should exemplify the benefits of the close co-operation UK and France are sharing in defence – enhancing both nation’s sovereign capabilities in armaments while reducing costs.”
The delivery of Sea Venom was delayed due to emerging technical issues in the Demonstration phase of delivery. A number of design issues with key sub systems of the Sea Venom missile has resulted in the Planned IOC being slipped to 2022.
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