On April 10, 2022, Ukrainian resources distributed a video recording of the combat use by servicemen of the 95th separate airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of the newest British portable anti-aircraft missile system Martlet. The missile was reportedly fired at the Russian small unmanned aerial vehicle Orlan-10. Previously, it was not known about the supply of Martlet complexes to Ukraine.
Launch of the Thales Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM, Martlet) guided missile performed by a portable anti-aircraft missile system during military tests by the 30th Intelligence and Information Group of the British Marine Corps, July 2019 (c) Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom
The Martlet is a universal small-sized multi-purpose guided missile for surface-to-surface, surface-to-air and air-to-surface applications developed under the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) cipher by the British branch of Thales Group (Thales Air Defense Limited, formerly Shorts Missile Systems) in the interests of the UK Ministry of Defense. Initially, the missile was created as a light helicopter anti-ship/anti-boat under the Future Air-to-Surface Guided Weapon (Light) program for arming Leonardo AW159 Wildcat naval helicopters of the British Navy. LMM development has been carried out since 2008 on the basis of Starstreak and Starburst anti-aircraft missiles, tests were started in 2011. In the same 2011, the British Ministry of Defense issued Thales Air Defense a contract for the supply of 1,000 LMM missiles in a helicopter version. Although their deliveries were planned from 2015, however, the testing of the missile system was delayed, and in fact the deliveries of the LMM, called Martlet, were started by the British Navy only in 2020, with the announcement of initial operational readiness (IOC) in May 2021. Wildcat HM helicopter.2 is capable of carrying two seven-shot Martlet missile launchers.
In 2019, LMM missiles were tested in surface-to-surface variants (the five-shot launcher was installed combined with the MSI-Defense Systems DS30M Mk 2 30 mm automatic artillery mount on the British F 81 Sutherland Type 23 frigate) and in the surface-to-air variant as an anti-aircraft missile in the portable version anti-aircraft missile system. Military tests of a portable air defense system with Martlet missiles were conducted in July 2019 by the 30th Intelligence and Information Group of the British Marine Corps (30 Commando Information Exploitation Group) - this unit is a full-time operator of the Starstreak air defense system in a portable version, while launches were carried out both on the ground range and from ships, with the defeat of jet unmanned Meggitt Banshee targets.
It should be noted that after that almost nothing was reported about the development of the Martlet as a portable air defense system, as well as about any orders for these complexes. Only in 2021 there were reports of considering the option of including this MANPADS in the prospective structure of the British army at the level of infantry battalions and even companies. However, by now it has become known about the presence of Martlet missiles in service with anti-aircraft missile units of the British Army equipped with Starstreak air defense systems, and, apparently, regular Starstreak air defense launchers are used for the use of Martlet anti-aircraft missiles - both self-propelled and portable with a three-shot support launcher. In addition, at the end of March 2022, the Martlet air defense systems "lit up" during exercises in service with the 14th Air Defense Division of the Indonesian army, also equipped with Starstreak air defense systems with self-propelled and support launchers. And finally, now this newest complex in a portable version has also reached Ukraine.
Earlier, the United Kingdom officially announced the dispatch of portable Starstreak air defense systems to Ukraine as military assistance, although it is still unclear in which version they were delivered to the Ukrainian side - in a portable (used by the British Marines) or portable with a three-shot support launcher (used by the British Army). British media reported that the Starstreak air defense system was delivered to Ukraine in the last week of March, and its first combat use there took place on April 1, 2022.
Nothing has been reported about the delivery of Martlet complexes to Ukraine, and, apparently, their use there is actually testing the newest complex in combat conditions. This has undoubtedly become a new stage in the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, and we can expect that the supply of such new systems for "testing on a real enemy" will increase.
The Martlet (LMM) rocket is made aerodynamically similar to the old British portable Javelin and Starburst anti-aircraft missiles, and has a launch mass of 13 kg, a length of 1.3 m and a body diameter of 76 mm. The cumulative fragmentation warhead has a mass of 3 kg and, when firing at an aerial target, is undermined by a laser non-contact fuse. The two-stage solid-fuel engine provides the rocket with a relatively low speed of M = 1.5 (instead of M > 3 for Starstreak), but a longer firing range (up to 8 km). A feature of the Martlet (LMM) is the use of a two-channel guidance system - laser beam (as you can understand, completely borrowed from Starstreak, and apparently semi-automatic) and infrared at the final guidance site, which significantly increases noise immunity. In addition, the on-board defense system of the aircraft / helicopter, receiving a signal about laser irradiation, apparently will not automatically shoot infrared traps.
The Martlet MANPADS guidance launcher looks outwardly similar to that of the Starstreak and Starburst MANPADS, and apparently also contains a thermal imaging detection channel, although perhaps with better characteristics. Transport and launch tube (container) At the same time, the Martlet rocket characteristically differs from the Starstreak by the smaller diameter of the rear part, which makes the Martlet MANPADS visually similar to the old British MANPADS Blowpipe, Javelin and Starburst (and, apparently, this is due to a similar scheme of placing the rocket rudders in the front of the TPC with their sliding back when the rocket is launched).
The relatively low speed of the Martlet rocket probably makes it more comfortable and effective to be guided by a MANPADS operator with a semi-automatic laser beam guidance system, compared to a high-speed Starstreak rocket. In general, the Martlet MANPADS will probably become a serious challenge for Russian aviation, although the real capabilities of the British side in terms of the scale of its possible deliveries to Ukraine are unclear.
A Ukrainian serviceman with a British portable anti-aircraft missile system Martlet (c) frame from a video from social networks\
Characteristic differences between the British Martlet MANPADS (left) and Starstreak (right). At the same time, attention is drawn to the identity of the launch guidance units (c) on the right photo Thales
Guided Missile Thales Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM, Martlet) (c) Thales
Missiles of British man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems on display at the Thales Air Defense Museum in Belfast, September 2021. From bottom to top: Blowpipe, Javelin, Starburst, Starstreak, LMM (Martlet) (c) Graham Taylor
Video of the first known combat use of the Martlet MANPADS in Ukraine:
Video of military tests of the Martlet MANPADS by the 30th Intelligence and Information Group of the British Marine Corps in July 2019:
Promotional video about the LMM (Martlet) rocket (c) Thales :