The order covers command posts for the ground-based air defence system. They are expected to be handed over to the UK armed forces in late 2026 before entering service in 2027.
Additional Land Ceptor launchers and support vehicles are also due for delivery in 2027. The package is intended to create more independent Sky Sabre sub-units, rather than increase the range or performance of the CAMM missiles used by the system.
The schedule was disclosed by Defence Minister Luke Pollard in a written answer to Conservative MP Stuart Anderson. Anderson had asked when the government would meet its commitment to double the number of Sky Sabre systems operated by the British Army.
Pollard said the Defence Investment Plan provides “more than £350 million to double the number of deployable Sky Sabre air defence systems.” The funding is part of Capability Uplift Package 1, valued at £350 million.
The minister also said further improvements to Sky Sabre are being considered beyond the doubling of deployable sub-units. He said he could not comment further while commercial negotiations are continuing.
That leaves open the possibility of additional investment after the current uplift package. For the British Army, the signed contract marks the next step in expanding a system introduced to replace the ageing Rapier air defence equipment in 2021.
Sky Sabre is now central to the UK’s short-range ground-based air defence force. The latest order is focused on scale, availability and deployable units at a time when air and missile threats are shaping European defence planning.
