Saab has carried out the first Mobile Short-Range Air Defence (MSHORAD) live system firing after completing the vehicle’s assembly earlier this year.
The system combines the RBS 70 NG missile and the Giraffe 1X multi-mission 3D radar, representing the MSHORAD’s vehicle-based mobile firing unit (MFU) and mobile radar unit (MRU). They are combined with a Saab command and control (C2) system.
In a series of firings, the system identified, tracked and engaged several targets, the company said.
The firings took place last month in Karlskoga, Sweden. with potential customers from 15 nations in attendance.
A total of five successful firings were performed from the RBS 70 NG MFU on the MARS-S330 vehicle against a variety of targets, including a drone and an elevated helicopter airframe.
During one firing scenario the vehicle mounted sight was taken off and reconfigured as a man portable firing unit. A night firing was also conducted against a towed target, Saab further said.
“These successful firings prove that we have a fully operable mobile air defense solution. These firings highlights the value of a single supplier being able to deliver everything from radar to the firing unit, including a GBAD C2 solution. The combination of our Giraffe 1X radar and the RBS 70 NG Mobile Firing Unit is the perfect match for a solution with first-class range, altitude coverage and detection,” says Stefan Öberg, head of Saab’s business unit Missile Systems.
Saab says the MSHORAD is the company’s response to the new battlefield era, with evolved airborne threats such as the advent of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles and other advanced airborne weapons.
