Land GBAD is a rolling, multi-project 10-year programme of enhancements and new capabilities revolving around Short-Range Air Defence (SHORAD), Medium-Range Air Defence (M-RAD), Counter Small Aerial Targets (C-SAT) for SHORAD and MRAD; and All-Arms Counter Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems.

The MOD has now released a pipeline notice warning industry of the imminent launch of the phase of maturation for the new vehicle-mounted Short Range Air Defence solution for the British Army, destined to replace the current STORMER HVM tracked vehicles.

The notice signals that a contract should be concluded by the end of August, with a value of 48 million pounds (VAT included) for the definition of the Mounted-SHORAD Fire Unit (MSFU), through “Vehicle Selection and Multi Mission System (MMS) Assessment Phase (AP) activities”.

In practice, the MOD wants to define the base vehicle to be used and the new multi-mission turret which is expected to launch existing LMM and HVM STARSTREAK missiles but also integrate further capability, for example against drones, which lead to the expectation that a 30 mm gun will be included.

The notice does not, however, help us define in detail what we are looking at. The British Army is, or at least was until recently) planning to field both a “heavy” manoeuvre SHORAD / Counter Small Aerial Targets (C-SAT) capability based on BOXER and a lighter capability using vehicles from the Land Mobility Programme as base.

The fact that a “vehicle selection” is necessary suggests we are looking at the latter requirement, connected to the Land Mobility Programme. It’s not clear where that leaves the BOXER part of the capability.

The Land Mobility Programme is expected to select soon a Light Mobility Vehicle to replace Land Rover and PINZGAUER vehicles; a Light Protected segment solution including but potentially not limited to JACKAL and FOXHOUND, and a Medium Protected segment which will replace MASTIFF, RIDGEBACK, WOLFHOUND fleets as well as part of the remaining FV432-series of tracked vehicles.

The base vehicle for M-SHORAD is most likely coming via Medium Protected segment. A strong contender for the Multi-Mission System (the “turret”) is Moog, which is aggressively pursuing the requirement with its Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP) with 30x113 mm gun and 8-missile capability. The RIwP has already been showcased on some of the leading candidates for the Land Mobility Program, including the KNDS DINGO and the Supacat HMT.

New capability is also on the way for the Medium Range Air Defence segment, currently delivered by SKY SABRE batteries (MBDA CAMM missile). A separate notice warns that the tender will be released at the end of October for the “Capability Uplift Package 2”. It is not clear, however, what this will involve. The expectation is that at some point SKY SABRE will adopt the longer range CAMM ER missile and, potentially later on, the MR variant, with range in the 100 km region, that UK and Poland plan to cooperatively develop.

Again, the LGBAD comprises another, separate project for a new Command and Control layer for air defences, and a Written Answer by Minister for Defence Procurement Maria Eagle, filed on 23 April, suggests that elements of this program will deliver by July 2026. Her answer says that Medium Range AD capability by that point will include “2 Surface-to-Air Missile Operations Centres, and 2 enhanced Wireless Enabled Network sets”. No further detail was provided, but the description suggests the UK might be about to adopt the US Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) by Northrop Grumman. This system, also adopted by Poland for both WISLA (PATRIOT) and NAREW (CAMM ER) batteries and which Germany also intends to adopt for its PATRIOT batteries, was picked for “assessment” by the UK MOD in 2024 with a 6-months study contract award to Northrop Grumman UK. 

Again, LGBAD work streams also include new C-UAS capabilities. After delivering an “on-the-soldier” package of wearable sensors, electronic “guns” and Smartshooter SMASH X4 advanced computerized sights to enable counter-drone firing with standard assault rifles, the focus is now “switching to higher level UAS detect and non-kinetic systems, and upgrades to vehicle mounted weapon systems to enable them to engage UAS” in the words of Minister Eagle.

Follow us on Telegram, Facebook and X.