Raytheon, acting through its Missile Systems business, and Chemring Group (LSE: CHG) are finalizing plans to conduct a live missile firing of the multirole CENTURION launcher at the Defence Training Estate on Salisbury Plain during the fourth quarter of 2013.

"Our plan is to launch a missile to help prove our capability against a maneuvering surface threat such as a fast, swarming attack craft," said Rick Nelson, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Naval and Area Mission Defense product line.

"Chemring's CENTURION launcher, coupled with a number of Raytheon's combat-tested missiles, brings an entirely new dimension to ship self-defense to provide a sea-based, inside-the-horizon platform protection system."

Low Cost Anti-Surface Weapon System
The solution to counter fast inshore attack craft consists of a variety of Raytheon missiles with ranges matched to the intended target. The missiles would be fired from the Chemring CENTURION launcher, with initial target detection, tracking and identification provided by the ship's sensors.

"This progression towards integrating CENTURION with Raytheon missiles to deliver a low-cost, effective and versatile solution to increase naval platform protection is a significant milestone," said Mark Papworth, chief executive of Chemring Group.

"This multimission single-launch platform solution can be installed on a wide variety of surface ships and provides defensive protection in both blue water and the littorals, contributing to the layered defence philosophy against a wide range of threats."