U.K. Ministry of Defence press release
Britain’s air defences are to be strengthened with the purchase of six new surface-to-air Land Ceptor missile systems, the Ministry of Defence has announced on Friday.
The £118 million purchase will secure jobs and growth in the North-West, supporting up to 140 jobs including at manufacturer MBDA’s site in Bolton, Lancashire, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
The systems will form part of Sky Sabre, a state-of-the-art defence system capable of intercepting cruise missiles, aircraft and drones.
It is hugely accurate, able to hit a tennis-ball sized object travelling twice the speed of sound. The sophisticated system can also simultaneously control the flight of 24 missiles, guiding them each to intercept separate targets at once.
The UK is doubling the number of deployable Sky Sabre systems operated by the Armed Forces in a drive to reinforce our air defences.
The purchase from MBDA will support up to 140 jobs across the UK, including at the site in Bolton, which earlier this year announced an expansion of 700 new jobs. Defence already supports 1,300 jobs at the facility, and over 5,000 more at other MBDA sites, contributing to economic prosperity in the North West and across the UK, and delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
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