Royal Navy missiles that have been used to shoot down Houthi drones in the Red Sea will be upgraded, the Government has said.
The Sea Viper Air Defence system will get more effective missiles featuring a new warhead and a software update that will enable it to defeat ballistic missile threats.
It will help protect the Navy’s Carrier Strike group and allows tracking, targeting and destruction of a variety of air threats more than 70 miles away.
The £405 million upgrade, awarded to missile systems company MBDA UK, will help sustain 350 skilled jobs across the country and be complete by 2032.
The contracts will make Sea Viper “the most capable naval air defence system ever developed for the Royal Navy”, the Government said as Houthi attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea continue.
It is hoped the upgrade will help Navy ships to better deal with more complex threats in future.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “As the situation in the Middle East worsens, it is vital that we adapt to keep…
