Babcock and IAI to collaborate on radar for UK Serpens project

IAI, Elta Systems, and Babcock to co-offer C-MMR radar for UK Serpens weapon-locating radar programme. (IAI Elta Systems)

Babcock is to collaborate with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and subsidiary Elta Systems to offer a deep-find radar solution for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) Serpens programme.

According to a Babcock announcement on 11 August, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IAI and Elta Systems to offer IAI-Elta's Compact Multi-Mission Radar (C-MMR) system for the Serpens programme.

A Babcock official was unable to provide further comment on the MOU at the time of publication.

The C-MMR system is intended for air defence and artillery weapon-location missions, the announcement said.

Babcock noted that the MOU will help establish their system integration and through-life support while also developing its radar assembly and maintenance expertise.

Project Serpens, a British Army programme, seeks a new weapon-locating radar system. A request for information announced in October 2019 detailed that the new system would involve a suite of networked sensor systems to detect, acquire, track, and assess adversary indirect fire threats, including mortars, artillery, and rockets at “vastly increased” ranges compared with the current fielded systems.

The new systems are expected to be introduced by 2026, with a main gate award anticipated in 2024. The platforms are scheduled to be retired in 2057.

Serpens will replace the Artillery Hunting Radar (ARTHUR), as well as Halo, which is in service as the Advanced Sound-ranging Post (ASP) and the Q49 Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar (LCMR), all of which are scheduled to retire by 2026.