Saab to upgrade RBS-15 system with enhanced combat range and an upgraded target seeker

Saab to deliver major upgrade for Swedish anti-ship missile system

Saab, which jointly produces the RBS-15 missile system with Diehl Defense, has been contracted to perform a major upgrade on it.

By Richard Tomkins   |   March 31, 2017 at 1:41 PM

March 31 (UPI) -- Saab has been contracted by the Swedish Defense Material Administration to develop and produce a new generation anti-ship missile system, the company announced on Friday.

The new system, a major upgrade of the RBS-15 system, will be for both air-launched and ship-launched missiles and will be integrated on the new Gripen E fighters and in Sweden's Visby-class corvettes.

"These next-generation missiles will provide the Swedish Air Force and the Royal Swedish Navy with greatly improved capabilities compared to other missiles on the market." Hakan Buskhe, president and chief executive officer of Saab, said in a press release. "They will have the capability to engage any target, in all conditions."

Saab said the missile system will combine the capabilities of the current RBS-15 system – jointly produced with Germany's Diehl Defense GmbH -- with new features, such as enhanced combat range and an upgraded target seeker.

"Diehl is proud to continue its participation in the RBS-15 success story with our missile know-how and proven expertise," said Claus Günther, chief executive officer at Diehl. "This joint program will strengthen the position of both companies as world leaders in anti-ship missile technology, being the first to introduce a next generation missile to the market."

Original post: upi.com

Gripen E to gain enhanced anti-ship missile

31 MARCH, 2017 SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM BY: CRAIG HOYLE LONDON

Sweden will equip its future fleet of Gripen E fighters with an extended-range version of the Saab/Diehl Defence-produced RBS15 anti-ship missile, under a project worth SKr3.2 billion ($358 million).

Announced on 31 March, the deal will deliver weapons with “greatly improved capabilities to engage any target, in all [weather] conditions”, says Saab chief executive Håkan Buskhe. Equipped with an upgraded seeker, the RBS15F ER will have a reduced launch weight and increased range compared with earlier versions of the maritime- and land-attack missile.

The extended-range design will be among a variety of weapon types to be carried by the Gripen E, which is scheduled for delivery to the Swedish air force from 2019. Others include MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile, which entered service with its MS20 operating standard Gripen Cs last year, and Diehl Defence’s short-range IRIS-T.

Saab lists the 4.35m (14.3ft)-long, sea-skimming RBS15F ER as weighing around 600kg (1,320lb), including a 200kg warhead. It cites an operational range of more than 108nm (200km).

Sweden’s FMV defence materiel administration says the enhanced weapon – which will also be produced in a ship-launched version – will be operational from the mid-2020s. Its contract also includes in-service support services for the nation’s current inventory of RBS15s. Source flightglobal.com

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