UK Invests £135 Million to Get Ship Decoy Launchers to Counter Hypersonics Missiles

Defense News ,UK :-  The UK government is spending £135 million, which is around $170 million, to make ships safer from dangerous missiles like hypersonic ones. They're doing this by getting special launchers called "trainable decoy launchers" for Royal Navy ships.

Rebecca Fullerton, who manages electronic warfare projects for the UK, said, "This money will help us fight against new kinds of missiles. We want to make sure our ships can find and stop them before they hit."

A trainable decoy launcher is a device that can throw out fake targets to trick missiles. This helps keep the real ship safe. These launchers will be put on Type 45 destroyers and future Type 26 and Type 31 frigates. They're made by a company called Systems Engineering & Assessment Ltd.

Why are they special? Because they can move around and fire different kinds of fake targets. This makes it hard for missiles to tell what's real and what's not. It's like playing a game of "catch me if you can" with missiles!

“These launchers will make our navy even stronger. They can deal with new threats and help us stay safe,” said a navy officer, Cdre Matthew Stratton.

The new launchers will start arriving in late 2026. The plan is to have them on 19 ships, with each ship getting two launchers. This means there will be a total of 38 launchers.

The company that's making these launchers is based in Somerset. They beat another company, Elbit Systems UK, to get the job.

The idea behind all this is to upgrade the navy's electronic gear over the next 20 years. This is part of a big plan called the MEWSIC program. It’s like giving the navy better glasses to see and stop threats.

So, in short, the UK is spending a lot of money to keep its ships safe from missiles. They’re getting these cool launchers that can shoot out fake targets. It's like having a decoy duck to distract a hungry fox!