British forces will soon be armed with new high-speed interceptor missiles that are designed to defend against Iranian Shahed-style attack drones.
“Skyhammer” interceptor missiles and launchers were successfully tested in Jordan, the UK defense ministry announced on Friday. The development comes as Western militaries seek out cost-effective air defenses to engage cheap but deadly attack drones.
The Skyhammer system is produced by Cambridge Aerospace, a UK-based startup. The UK government last month signed a multimillion-pound contract to procure the interceptor missiles and launchers for British forces.
British forces will receive the first batch of Skyhammer missiles and launchers in May, with more to be delivered in the coming months.
The missiles have a range of 30 kilometers (nearly 19 miles) and can travel at 700 kmph (roughly 435 mph). They are designed to defend against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, also known as loitering munitions. It uses an onboard radar to lock onto a target and fly to intercept it.
Shaheds — which have small warheads and fly to a designated navigation point, exploding on impact — gained notoriety after Iran sent them to Russia to use against Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure. Moscow now produces its own variants called the Geran family of systems.
Iran launched thousands of Shaheds across the Middle East during the US military’s Operation Epic Fury, an air campaign begun in tandem with Israeli forces. British troops engaged dozens of drones across the region during the conflict, which entered a ceasefire nearly a month ago.
The UK defense ministry said Skyhammer and the recent tests will better protect British forces and Gulf partners from drone attacks.
“We are stepping up alongside UK industry to offer rapid support to our partners in the Middle East,” Luke Pollard, the UK minister for defense readiness and industry, said in a statement.
The UK defense ministry has described a single Skyhammer missile as cost-effective, although the exact price is unclear. A Shahed is estimated to cost Iran roughly $50,000.
“We have proven that our interceptors are not only cost-effective but also highly capable and will be able to counter the rising threat posed by aerial attacks,” Steven Barrett, the CEO of Cambridge Aerospace, said in a statement.
The Skyhammer test and future deployment come as the UK and its allies, including the US, explore low-cost air defense options to better protect forces and civilians from cheap attack drones without having to expend multimillion-dollar surface-to-air missiles.
The high saturation of drone attacks during the Iran war has pushed some countries to confront the air defense cost dilemma with more urgency.
European and Middle Eastern countries, for instance, have become intent on procuring interceptor drones — technology that Ukraine pioneered and has since made a top priority for its defense manufacturers — as a low-cost air defense option.
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