UK to deploy Spear 3 mini-missiles

Britain’s Royal Navy will equip its F-35B Lightning stealth jets operating from the decks of HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales with next-generation Spear 3 mini-cruise missiles

F-35B Lightning II: To minimize radar signature, Lockheed designed stealth aircraft to carry 6,800kg of weapons internally

Standard internal load: Eight Spear 3 land-attack and anti-ship missiles plus two Meteor air-to-air
missiles

Spear 3: Swarm capability can knock out warships, tanks, air defence systems
Range: 140km-plus
Weight: 90kg
Length: 1.8 metres 

Multi-mode sensor seeker: Millimeter-wave and semi-active laser – allows “fire-and-forget” or laser-guided modes

Two-way data-link: Allows in-flight updates, re-targeting and abort functions

Propulsion: Pratt & Whitney TJ-150 turbojet gives high subsonic speeds

Multi-effects warhead: Can be programmed before or during flight

Seeker’s target recognition algorithms can evaluate images without human intervention

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Two squadrons of F-35Bs plus helicopters

© GRAPHIC NEWS
Sources: Royal Navy, MBDA, FlightGlobal, Forces Net, Missile Threat, Reuters