A UK mobile air defense system achieved a 90% strike rate in Ukraine using an ASRAAM air-to-air missile on a Supacat High Mobility Transporter (HMT). The joint team of the UK Ministry of Defence and MBDA developed, trialed, and trained Ukrainian crews in the system in four months in 2022.
The system is particularly effective against low-flying, short-range targets such as helicopters. Ukrainian operators have become adept at their usage and have asked for more missiles to protect their country.
The ASRAAM missile has a high off-boresight seeker, enabling it to detect, track, and engage targets from various angles. It has a speed of Mach 3 and a range of 25 kilometers (16 miles), although the range is likely to be reduced from a ground-launched configuration.
The system is one of two rapidly improvised British projects for Ukraine where a missile has been mounted on a vehicle. The UK Ministry of Defence praised the project as a demonstration of British engineering ingenuity and the agility of British industry to rapidly deliver effective yet low-cost solutions to the frontline to meet urgent requirements.
