Land Forces
British Sky Sabre System Deployed to Poland
Photo. 16 Regt RA
Sky Sabre system deployed to Poland by the UK has achieved FOC status and reinforces the allied air defence assets in the region. From the moment when they were deployed back in April 2022, the British soldiers from the 16th Royal Artillery Regiment have engaged in an exercise, reaching FOC status right now. The system is armed with CAMM missiles, also selected for the Polish Narew SHORAD solution.
80 British troops of the 11th Battery Royal Artillery of the 16th Regiment Royal Artillery, the first British Army unit equipped with Sky Sabre, have been deployed. SkySabre is a replacement for the Rapier SAM, which has been operated by the British for 5 decades now.
SkySabre utilizes the MBDA CAMM missile as the effector. The said missile had already been commissioned by the Royal Navy. More importantly, though, the very same missile, and the iLauncher launchers, have been selected to become the backbone of the Polish Narew SHORAD solution, the first two fire units of which are expected to be commissioned in September 2022.
In early 2022 a decision was made to deploy SkySabre to Poland by London, as a part of activities reinforcing the NATO Eastern Flank. The 11th Battery Royal Artillery troops were deployed to Poland in April, with that task assigned.
In May the first information on their presence was released via the unit's social media channels, as the soldiers were having the US Patriot units acquainted with their armament. The Patriot system is to work together with CAMM. The Polish military also got acquainted with the CAMM system in the process.
So far, the British air defence assets' presence has only been quite symbolic, also bearing a relevance for operational activities. The SkySabre systems deployed to Poland achieved their IOC in May, with FOC only achieved now, realistically contributing to enhancing the lethality of IADS in the eastern part of Poland.
The British, for security reasons, have not disclosed the strength of the deployed elements. The SkySabre system includes the Saab Giraffe radars, C2 system, and iLauncher launchers, each capable of launching up to 8 CAMM SAMs with ARH made by MBDA, and with a range of 25 kilometers. The missiles are vertically launched, thus being capable of effectively neutralizing targets within 360 degrees.