EU Naval Mission Says It Destroyed Two Drones In Gulf Of Aden
ATHENS, July 7 (Reuters) – The EU naval mission protecting ships crossing the Red Sea said its frigate Psara had destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday....
Image taken from the operations room of HMS Diamond, seen here preparing to fire Sea Viper missiles in the Red Sea on January 10, 2024. UK Ministry of Defence/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday it would spend 405 million pounds ($514 million) to upgrade a missile system now being used by the Royal Navy to shoot down hostile drones over the Red Sea.
The Sea Viper Air Defence system will be upgraded with missiles featuring a new warhead and software enabling it to counter ballistic missile threats, the MoD said in a statement.
The contracts were awarded to the British division of MBDA, a missiles joint venture owned by Airbus AIR.PA, BAE Systems BAES.L and Leonardo LDOF.MI, the MoD said.
“As the situation in the Middle East worsens, it is vital that we adapt to keep the UK, our allies and partners safe,” defence minister Grant Shapps said in the statement.
“Sea Viper has been at the forefront of this, being the Navy’s weapon of choice in the first shooting down of an aerial threat in more than 30 years.”
U.S. and British naval forces in the Red Sea have shot drones and missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi movement this month as the conflict between Israel and Hamas spilled out into the broader region.
($1 = 0.7874 pounds)
(Writing by William SchombergEditing by Peter Graff)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024.
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