Navy’s Next Missile Launcher Spins Like a Revolver Barrel

The Navy may have a new line of defense against a changing threat environment after the successful missile firing from a new multi-role launcher in development. Chemring Countermeasures and Raytheon Missile Systems say they have successfully fired a Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin missile from a prototype multi-role Centurion launcher during testing at the Defence Training Estate on Salisbury Plain in England, where it was able to hit a static target.

“We’re bringing an entirely new dimension to ship self-defense by providing a sea-based, inside-the-horizon platform protection,” said Rick Nelson, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems’ Naval and Area Mission Defense line, in a statement. “Chemring’s Centurion launcher, when coupled with Raytheon’s combat-proven missiles, offers an evolutionary capability to defeat surface threats with this One System-Multiple Missions technology.”