Martlet LMM lightweight multirole missile Thales Royal Navy

Aircraft / Surface Vessel Weapon System
Martlet Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM)

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales 16x

10/25

Martlet or the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) is a lightweight air-to-surface, air-to-air, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is named after a mythical bird from English heraldry that never roosts, the Martlet.

The LMM was developed from the Starburst surface-to-air missile to meet the UK's "Future Air-to-Surface Guided Weapon (Light)" requirement to equip the Royal Navy's AW159 Wildcat helicopters and supplement the heavier Sea Venom missile by the engagement of smaller and manoeuvrable naval craft.

A glide variant of the LMM known as FreeFall LMM (FFLMM) or Fury is designed as a lighter munition to equip drones and is currently slated to equip the British Army's Dispensing Rocket Payload for the GMLRS-ER and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) placed an initial order for 1,000 missiles with deliveries due to start in 2013. However, initial operating capability was considerably delayed and took place in 2021 with full operating capability achieved in 2025.

The LMM weighs approximately 13 kilograms (29 lb) with a length of 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) and a diameter of 76 millimetres (3.0 in). The weapon is guided using a laser beam-riding system but Thales have proposed a variety of additional seekers including a semi-active laser, terminal Infrared, and GPS/INS systems.

LMM can be operated from variety of platforms. Martlet has been integrated onto the Royal Navy's AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopters which across two weapon wings and four total weapon stations can hold up to 20x missiles, alternatively a mix load of 10x Martlets and 2x Sea Venoms can be carried, or a weapon wing can be removed to allow for a mounted gun on one side.

The British Army has integrated LMM on their current armoured (Stormer) and light role Starstreak ground-based air-defence batteries of 12 Regiment Royal Artillery and 106th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery to supplement Starstreak.

Other platforms have also been trailed or conceptualised. In early 2019 HMS Sutherland tested a modified mounting for the 30 mm Automated Small Calibre Gun which incorporated a launcher for five Martlet LMMs, by firing four of them at a small speedboat target at the Aberporth range in Wales. The concept of mounting the missile alongside the 30 mm (1.181 in) Bushmaster cannon was tested just 5 months after the idea's conception. The intended role of the Martlet is to further extend the Type 23 frigate's capabilities against small, fast-moving targets beyond the current 30 mm, general purpose machine gun and Minigun options to provide a long-range "stand-off" ability. As of 2019 it was not clear whether the Royal Navy intended to equip any more Type 23s with the system. A 2023 report suggested that the tests had not been deemed successful due to efflux management issues on the Type 23.

A number of other surface launch options have been conceived for the LMM such as standalone launchers as well as concepts for LMM to be mounted to other gun systems as the Thales' 40mm RAPIDfire. LMM and in some cases FFLMM have also been publicly tested by a variety of uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs) including a Schiebel Camcopter S-100, Flyby Technology's Jackal, and the Hydra 400.

Royal Navy declared Martlet's Fully Operating Capability in October 2025.

Specifications:
Type: Light Air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missile
Manufacturer: Thales Air Defence, Belfast, UK
Mass: 13 kg (28.6 lb)
Length: 1.3 m (4 ft 3 inches)
Diameter: 76 mm (3 inches)
Warhead: 3 kg (6.6 lb)
Detonation mechanism: Laser proximity sensor
Propellant: 2-stage solid propellant
Operational range: 8 km (5 miles)
Maximum speed: Mach 1.5
Guidance system: Multi-mode guidance (Laser beam riding and/or semi-active laser guidance & terminal infrared homing)

source: wikipedia+

images

air-launched from Wildcat HMA2 helicopter (4 x quintuple tube launcher)

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 09

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 09

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 10

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 18

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 11

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 13

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 12

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 17

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 14

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 22

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales wildcat hma2 helicopter 23

surface-fired from modified DS30M Mark 2 gun (quintuple tube launcher mounted)

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 06

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 06

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 04

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 03

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 07

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 02

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 05

martlet lmm lightweight multirole missile royal navy thales ds30m mk.2 30mm gun 08

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