The UK has contracted Thales UK for the future Mounted Short Range Air Defence (MSHORAD) assessment phase, advancing efforts to replace the British Army\u2019s Stormer High Velocity Missile Self-Propelled (HVM SP) system.<\/p>\n
This phase focuses on defining a new mobile platform and a multi-mission launcher to meet the MSHORAD requirement.<\/p>\n
The contract was signed with Defence Equipment and Support and \u201csupports the next phase of development for future MSHORAD capabilities and modernization of the British Army\u2019s ground-based air defense suite,\u201d Thales\u00a0stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to a Ministry of Defence notice\u00a0issued<\/a>\u00a0in May last year, the phase is valued at an estimated 48 million pounds ($64 million) and is expected to run through December 2028.<\/p>\n The British Army\u2019s current MSHORAD capability is centered on the Stormer HVM system, which features a roof-mounted launcher equipped with eight Starstreak or Martlet missiles, both developed by Thales.<\/p>\n Operational since the 1990s, the system was designed to counter threats from pop-up helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, with an effective range of up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles).<\/p>\n The new system is expected to retain compatibility with existing Starstreak and Martlet missiles while adding capabilities such as a 30mm cannon to counter emerging threats, including drones.<\/p>\n For the base platform requirement, the army could draw on its\u00a0Land Mobility Program<\/a>, which aims to replace more than a dozen legacy vehicle types with around 8,000 more capable platforms.<\/p>\n The MSHORAD vehicle is likely to be selected from the Medium Protected Mobility variant of the program, originally intended to replace legacy platforms such as the Mastiff, Ridgeback, and Wolfhound.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Future Warfare Magazine<\/em>, New York-based Moog is actively\u00a0pitching<\/a>\u00a0its Reconfigurable Integrated-Weapons Platform (RIwP) for the MSHORAD unit\u2019s multi-mission system requirement and is considered a strong contender for the contract.<\/p>\nUK MSHORAD<\/strong><\/h2>\n
New Capability<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Likely Contenders<\/strong><\/h2>\n