UKDJ reported that the Royal Navy has confirmed the plans to integrate MBDA’s STRATUS LO subsonic cruise missile on Type 26 (City-class) frigates’ Mk41 VLS. This will mark the first time the Royal Navy ships get a long-range cruise missile. Eight of the 24 cells will likely be reserved for STRATUS LO, while the others will go for Aster 30 long-range air defence missiles.
STRATUS LO is the stealthy and subsonic member of the STRATUS family of cruise missiles, alongside the supersonic STRATUS RS that triples as an anti-ship, SEAD/DEAD, and anti-AWACS missile.
The missile is also viewed as a spiritual successor to the Storm Shadow cruise missile used by RAF Eurofighters, with better performance and low observability. However, as stated before, the impact will be more significant on the Navy’s end due to the leap from RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which lag behind most of the newer anti-ship missiles in terms of range and flexibility.
No comment on the STRATUS RS missile has been made. While a consortium has developed the missiles, the majority of workloads on STRATUS LO and STRATUS RS have been undertaken by the UK and France, respectively.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
