UK to upgrade warship Sea Viper defense missile system used against Red Sea Houthi attacks

Britain’s Ministry of Defence says it will spend 405 million pounds ($514 million) to upgrade a missile system now being used by the Royal Navy to shoot down hostile drones over the Red Sea.

The Sea Viper Air Defence system will be upgraded with missiles featuring a new warhead and software enabling it to counter ballistic missile threats, the MoD says in a statement.

The contracts were awarded to the British division of MBDA, a missiles joint venture owned by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, the MoD says.

“As the situation in the Middle East worsens, it is vital that we adapt to keep the UK, our allies and partners safe,” UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps says in the statement.

“Sea Viper has been at the forefront of this, being the Navy’s weapon of choice in the first shooting down of an aerial threat in more than 30 years.”

US and British naval forces in the Red Sea have shot drones and missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi movement this month as the war between Israel and Hamas spilled out into the broader region.