A deal with Proteus Advanced Systems to provide Blue Spear 5G SSM missile systems has been signed by Estonia’s military procurement agency. The deal has been made with regards to enhancing the coastal defence. The Proteus Advanced Systems is a joint venture of Israel Aerospace Industries and ST Engineering Land Systems.
As per officials, The contract was made through the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment while the development of the missile was announced in July 2020.
All about the Blue Spear missile
As described by officials, the Blue Spear missile is capable of being operated in all weather conditions and has a range of around 290 km. It is an advanced precision weapon that is equipped with a smart seeker. As it operates at a high subsonic speed, its immunity to GPS interference is claimed by the company.
The Blue Spear system is the advanced member of the Gabriel missile heritage which was manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
The initial variant of the missile was created in the 1960s in response to the needs of the Israeli Navy and was first deployed by them in 1970. Intending to develop, produce and marketing a derivative of the Gabriel V called the Blue Spear missile system, Israel’s IAI and Singapore’s ST Engineering commenced a 50/50 joint venture company called Proteus Advanced Systems in the previous year.
As per reports, the system is capable of coping with the different battle-field challenges along with achieving its missions as it is equipped with a variety of deception means. The missile is also claimed to be capable of carrying out deep land and sea attacks with increased manoeuvrability for littoral environments.
Other Variant
A variant of the Blue Spear called Sea Serpent was marketed to the Royal Navy for replacing its ageing Harpoon missile system earlier this year by IAI and Thales.
It was revealed at the DSEI 2021, that the Sea Serpent is parallelly being developed with the Blue Spear based on the Gabriel V missile system. It was also said by officials from IAI that the Sea Serpent is equipped with a sea-skimming range greater than 290 km.
The Sea Serpent missile is capable of engaging targets at a distance of up to 400km as its range corresponds with the overall Gabriel V’s range of 200km to 400km, depending on flight profile.
Variants of the Gabriel missile is currently being operated by nations including Azerbaijan, Chile, Ecuador, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Mexico, Sri Lanka and India
Current Status
Although a contract value and delivery timeline are not being provided by Tryfus and the company. It was said by Tryfus that the company faces a tight schedule to meet Estonia’s requirements.
That said, with Tryfus expecting to see more projects with the country, the Proteus will work with the Estonian industry and subcontractors.