UK’s New SPEAR 3 mini cruise missile succeeds in first end-to-end test

London: The SPEAR 3, a precision-guided standoff munition that the U.K. Ministry of Defense describes as the “cruise missile of the future,” has been test-fired, paving the way for it to arm British F-35B stealth fighters. While offering several key advantages over certain other comparable weapons, the SPEAR 3 program has been mired in delays for some time now, not all of which are the result of problems directly related to the missile. In the meantime, it’s now badly needed, with British F-35Bs having no standoff air-to-ground weapon for the time being.

As we have discussed before, the SPEAR 3 is essentially a miniature cruise missile, powered by a small Pratt & Whitney TJ-150-3 turbojet engine. Combined with pop-out wings, this allows it to hit targets at a reported range of more than 62 miles, flying at a high subsonic speed. Other accounts have attributed it with a range of more than 87 miles.

The missile uses a tri-mode seeker that offers radar, infrared, and laser homing. The SPEAR 3 can autonomously identify and prosecute targets, or target coordinates can be sent to the missile via datalink, exploiting the launch platform’s sensors or those of third parties. It can be used against mobile and relocatable targets, as well as ones that are more heavily defended, or otherwise challenging to prosecute. When striking its target via laser seeker — especially useful for moving targets — guidance can be provided by an aircraft overhead or by a suitably equipped team of soldiers on the ground nearby.

Typical targets include ships, tanks, defended structures, and moving vehicles and it’s especially relevant for destruction of enemy air defense (SEAD) missions, which involve attacking hostile air defense systems.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense announced yesterday that the SPEAR 3 munition — developed by the pan-European missile house MBDA — had completed a recent firing campaign, which saw it launched from a Typhoon FGR4 multirole combat aircraft from 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron. The trials were conducted at the Vidsel Test Range in northern Sweden, within the Arctic Circle, reportedly in mid-October.

While this was the first time that the SPEAR 3 was launched against an actual test target, the weapon wasn’t fitted with a warhead. Instead, it carried a telemetry unit, which gathered data on the mock engagement, which involved a “high-altitude and high-speed release” before zeroing in on a decommissioned tank.

The Swedish test was billed as the “first successful guided firing trial of the missile,” although it’s worth noting that, as long ago as 2016, a prototype version of the SPEAR 3 was launched at Aberporth in Wales, also from a Typhoon.

A spokesperson for MBDA explained how the two tests differed, with the Videl campaign being the first guided firing of the SPEAR 3, as part of the formal qualification — a key step toward declaring the weapon operational.

“The trial demonstrated the end-to-end function and performance of the system from initialization, launch, and transition to free flight, the conduct of pre-programmed maneuvers, and engagement of a target,” the spokesperson added. “This guided firing was conducted using a SPEAR three-pack launcher, which uses the same sub-systems (including the pneumatic ejection system) as the four-pack launcher for F-35.”

In contrast, the 2016 trial served as “a technology demonstration conducted during the project’s assessment phase, testing the missile’s airframe, navigation, and propulsion systems to increase technical maturity and de-risk the program ahead of the launch of the weapon development phase. The missile was a prototype standard and there was no target selection and engagement functionality in the 2016 trial.”

In addition, for the 2016 trial, the missile was launched directly from the aircraft’s pylon rather than a dedicated launcher, and the prototype missile was suitably modified to use the existing pylon interface.

Returning to the Vidsel trial, U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, issued the following statement:

“The successful trial of the pioneering SPEAR missile marks a significant leap forward in UK Armed Forces’ capabilities, ensuring our Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel are equipped with cutting-edge technology to protect our nation.”

Matthew Brown, SPEAR Team Leader at the Defense Equipment and Support (DE&S) branch, which handles procurement for the U.K. Ministry of Defense, added: “This trial was a key step on the way to delivering SPEAR to the UK front line, where it will provide a new capability to defeat the most complex air defense systems, enabling pilots to fly and fight wherever they’re needed in defense of the U.K. and its allies.”

As for the next phases of testing, the same MBDA spokesperson confirmed to TWZ that the telemetry and flight termination sub-system fitted in place of a warhead for the Vidsel trial is sufficient to gather all data needed to support system development and model validation, as part of the guided firing program. Meanwhile, the multi-mode warhead, arming, and fuzing systems have already successfully been trialed at the system and sub-system levels.

Next up, there will be full test firings using a live warhead, to be conducted by the U.K. Royal Air Force as part of the end-user’s service evaluation trials, although no date for this was given.