French shipbuilder the Naval Group has confirmed that its Rampart multi-purpose launcher had conducted live-fire testing aboard a number of French Navy ships during Exercise Wildfire held from September 28 to October 2.
The company said Rampart will be ready for repeated production by early 2027 and will also be demonstrated internationally.
The Naval Group's counter-drone demonstrators operated aboard the air defence frigate Chevalier Paul, the multi-mission frigate Lorraine, and the helicopter carrier Tonnerre during the exercise. On Tonnerre, a container housing an independently operating counter-drone management system was embarked and connected to Rampart to control the launcher.
At an October 6 briefing at Toulon naval base, the Naval Group said that the first at-sea firings took place from Tonnerre off Toulon. Thales provided the 68mm rockets used in the firings, in both guided and unguided variants.
The company said its counter-drone system can either be integrated with a vessel's combat system, including one not designed by the Naval Group, or operate independently while communicating with the ship.
The Naval Group defines the close-range protection zone as extending six to eight kilometres around a ship. Within that zone, the system is intended to detect, track, identify and characterise threats as early as possible and then propose a response at an appropriate cost.
Rampart is a self-funded development intended as an inner defensive layer against low-cost unmanned aerial and surface threats. It can carry different effectors and switch between them without returning to port.
The launcher pairs four interchangeable ammunition modules with an electrically powered turret that moves on two axes and incorporates a firing computer. Each module holds twenty 68mm rockets, twelve 70mm rockets, or four lightweight multi-role or short-range surface-to-air missiles.
The non-deck-penetrating launcher weighs three tonnes, rising to four tonnes when fully loaded.
The launcher had previously been referred to by the acronym MPLS, denoting its multi-purpose, modular launch-system design.
