Moog and Supacat display Raven 5 SHORAD system concept

The Raven 5 short range air defence system, mounting MBDA ASRAAM missiles to a Moog FMP launcher on a Supacat HMT 600 vehicle. (Janes/Jon Hawkes)

Moog and Supacat presented a concept vehicle for a proposed fifth iteration of the Raven short-range air-defence (SHORAD) system at the Supacat and KNDS Capability Day in Aldershot, UK.

The Raven system was rapidly developed for Ukraine by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The companies said Raven 5 would address limitations of the existing system's fixed launcher by integrating Moog's Flexible Mission Platform (FMP) launcher and moving the concept onto current-production Supacat HMT 600 vehicles.

Raven is intended to adapt air-to-air missiles for ground-based SHORAD use, using AIM-132 ASRAAM missiles approaching or at the end of their permitted aircraft-carriage life rather than disposing of them. According to the companies, the approach is designed to provide a lower-cost capability compared to traditional SHORAD systems and a rapid integration pathway.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has said that the Raven system has been employed against a range of aerial threats, including surveillance and attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cruise missiles. Ukrainian military authorities have assessed Raven's interception performance as up to 95%.

Richard Allen-Miles, Moog's EMEA capture lead, said a limitation of the existing Raven configuration is its fixed launcher. While the ASRAAM missile can be fired at targets outside the vehicle's forward arc, he said this can reduce effective range and increase the risk of a failed intercept at short range. Raven 5 would replace the manually raised fixed launch assembly with Moog's FMP; a pedestal launch platform with 360-degree traverse, shown carrying two ASRAAM missiles on each side.