Combat aircraft

arrival of the respective light and heavy

strands of the Future Anti-Surface

Guided Weapon (FASGW) in the shape

of the Thales Martlet lightweight

precision-guided missile system and

MBDA’s Sea Venom/Anti-Navire Léger

(ANL) anti-ship missile.

However, there is every expectation

that the FASGW weapons set will be

worth waiting for. ‘From a weapon and

tactics point of view, [the choice of

two different anti-surface weapons]

gives you more flexibility, ensuring that

the right weapons set is apportioned

to the right target’, said Richardson.

‘Additionally, you have the ability to

be able to turn the attack ‘off ’ [abort]

with FASGW (Heavy), which is a very

important capability, and also an ability

to target precisely.

‘That will give us a real difference

in the ability to strike a target which

is within a greater range window —

either further away or indeed closer

— and also with swarm tactics: you’ll

be able to take more targets out with a

greater number of weapons.’

The decision to divide the FASGW

requirement into two parts came as

an outcome of operational studies

undertaken during the mid-2000s.

These identified a clear split in the

FASGW target set between those

craft that do not have their own air

defense capability — typically fast

inshore attack craft and smaller — and

those that do, such as fast attack craft

and corvettes. This divide drove the

decision to bring about the FASGW

program with complementary light and

heavy solutions.

The Martlet is an exploitation of the

Thales UK-developed laser beam-riding

Lightweight Multi-role Missile (LMM).

In this application, hermetically sealed

LMM missiles will be hosted on a five-

cell launch pannier. The Wildcat will be

capable of accepting up to four LMM

panniers, two per weapon carrier port

and starboard.

Another key system engineering

requirement associated with the

Martlet is the integration of an active

laser generation unit (ALGU) inside the

nose-mounted MX-15Di turret. The

ALGU will transmit a coded laser beam,

along which the LMM missile will fly.

Weighing approximately 243lb

(110kg), MBDA’s Sea Venom/ANL is

a high-subsonic, drop-launch sea-

skimming missile featuring an imaging

infra-red seeker, a two-way datalink

for operator-in-the-loop (OITL) control,

and a 66lb (30kg) semi-armor-piercing

blast/fragmentation warhead. While the

missile will be capable of flying a fully

autonomous ‘fire and forget’ profile,

OITL control will enable capabilities

such as in-flight re-targeting, aim-point

correction/refinement, and safe abort.

As well as an increased stand-

off range — in excess of 12 miles

(20km) — the Sea Venom/ANL will

offer a ‘coastal suppression’ capability

against ships in port or shore-based

installations such as missile batteries

and radar stations. The Wildcat will be

able to carry up to four Sea Venom/ANL

missiles, or a ‘2+2’ mix of Sea Venom/

ANL and Martlet.

Leonardo Helicopters is leading

FASGW integration under a contract

amendment signed in June 2014.

Under this, the company is taking

responsibility for joint integration,

trials and certification of both

weapon systems.

General Dynamics Mission Systems

UK was in 2016 contracted by

Leonardo Helicopters to update the

Wildcat stores management system

(SMS) to introduce new functionality

attendant to the introduction of Sea

Venom/ANL and Martlet. This includes

the development of new software

to control the Mil Std 1760 missile

interfaces, and hardware design

changes to the existing SMS design

to support two additional weapon

stations on the helicopter.

The FASGW fielding plan will see the

two weapons introduced in parallel.

‘We are looking at trials from mid-

2018 to mid-2019’, said Richardson.

‘IOC is planned at October 2020, with

steady state training commencing in

January 2021.’

Above right: An

artist’s rendition

of a Wildcat HMA2

equipped with

the Sea Venom/

ANL (the missile

outboard on the

weapon carrier)

and the Martlet

(the five-cell

launcher inboard).

The new FASGW

weapon set is

planned to enter

service in 2020.

MBDA

Right: A Stingray

lightweight

torpedo falls

away during

carriage and

release trials.

Although not

specifically

equipped for

anti-submarine

operations —

unlike the RoKN’s

AW159 variant —

the Wildcat HMA2

retains a useful

ASW role as a

weapon-carrier.

Crown Copyright

http://www.combataircraft.net // March 2018 69

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