BAE Systems completes live-fire test of the Adaptable Deck Launcher system

USS Laboon, shown here, had to rearm after launching missiles during naval combat in the the Red Sea. (Michael Fabey)

BAE Systems completed the first live-fire test of its Adaptable Deck Launcher (ADL) in China Lake, California, the company confirmed in statement on 27 October.

The deck-mounted ADL missile-launching system enables expedited reloading at sea and helps ships maintain high rates of fire without returning to port, BAE Systems noted in the statement.

Developed under a US Department of Defense (DOD) contract for the NATO Seasparrow Project Office (NSPO), the system provides the reliability of a Vertical Launching System (VLS) and low-cost operation by using an existing Mk 41 VLS logistics and electronics suite, BAE Systems said.

“The ADL complements the Mk 41 VLS by providing a capability for rapid replenishment, using standard shipboard equipment and offering the fleet additional flexibility in how it sustains combat loads at sea,” Jason Casciotti, BAE Systems vice president of Weapons Systems, said in the statement.

The ADL enables anti-air defence and “flexible” maritime operations across aircraft carriers, amphibious ships and other surface combatants, BAE Systems said. The company also noted it offers compact configurations suitable for medium unmanned surface vessels (MUSVs).

The US Navy (USN) has been ramping up its efforts to reload and rearm quickly to maintain patrols since the USN ships faced increasing naval combat in the Red Sea region starting in 2023, navy officials have noted to Janes in interviews during that time.

Those combat operations have required US forces to expend a large number of munitions, USN officials said.

Munitions expended