Martlet (missile)

Lightweight Multirole Missile
Martlet
A Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter equipped with Martlet missiles.
TypeLaser-guided battlefield missile (ASM, AAM, SAM and SSM)
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service2021; full operating capability with the Royal Navy projected for 2025
Used by
WarsRusso-Ukrainian War
Production history
ManufacturerThales Air Defence
Specifications
Mass13 kg (29 lb)
Length1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
Diameter76 mm (3.0 in)
Wingspan260 mm (10 in)
WarheadHE blast fragmentation, shaped charge
Warhead weight3 kg (6.6 lb)
Detonation
mechanism
Laser, proximity (active)

Propellant2-stage, solid propellant
Operational
range
8 km (4.3 nmi; 5.0 mi)
Maximum speed > Mach 1.5 (510 m/s; 1,670 ft/s)
Guidance
system
  • SAL, LBR (mode A)
  • IR terminal homing (mode B)
  • IIR terminal homing (mode C)
  • INS, GPS (mode D)
Launch
platform
Jackal drone (UK) (under development)
ReferencesJanes[1]

Martlet or the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) is a lightweight air-to-surface, air-to-air, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is named after a mythical bird from English heraldry that never roosts, the Martlet.[2]

The LMM was developed from the Starburst surface-to-air missile to meet the UK's "Future Air-to-Surface Guided Weapon (Light)" requirement to equip the Royal Navy's AW159 Wildcat helicopters and supplement the heavier Sea Venom missile by the engagement of smaller and manoeuvrable naval craft.[3][4]

A glide variant of the LMM known as FreeFall LMM (FFLMM) or Fury is designed as a lighter munition to equip drones and is currently slated to equip the British Army's Dispensing Rocket Payload for the GMLRS-ER and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).[5]

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) placed an initial order for 1,000 missiles with deliveries due to start in 2013.[6] However, initial operating capability was considerably delayed and took place in 2021 with full operating capability now only anticipated in 2025.[7][8][3]

  1. ^ Janes (23 November 2022), "Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM)", Janes Weapons: Air Launched, Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane's Group UK Limited, retrieved 2 January 2023
  2. ^ Type 26 Global Combat Ship (PDF), Ministry of Defence, 9 October 2014, p. 3, retrieved 24 November 2014
  3. ^ a b "The Martlet missile – the Wildcat helicopter gets its claws | Navy Lookout". 15 June 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Britain orders 1,000 Thales LMM missiles". UPI.
  7. ^ Allison, George (23 July 2023). "Martlet achieves progress in operating capabilities". UK Defence Journal.
  8. ^ In focus: the Wildcat multi role helicopter in service with the Royal Navy, savetheroyalnavy.org, 4 February 2019