The UK’s Royal Navy has achieved Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the Sea Venom anti-ship missile, a press release on 2 October 2025 said.
The Sea Venom missile has been developed by MBDA, in partnership with the UK and French governments.
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The IOC achieved by the Royal Navy allows its Wildcat maritime helicopters to deploy the system in front-line operations.
Each Wildcat helicopter can accommodate up to four Sea Venom missiles. This provides the capacity to engage several targets within a single mission or focus multiple missiles on a single objective.
The Sea Venom is designed to strike larger surface vessels, such as corvettes and patrol ships. The Wildcat also operates the Martlet missile for engaging smaller boats and vessel swarms.
The IOC milestone occurred during Operation Highmast, a global deployment led by HMS Prince of Wales in the Indo-Pacific region.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the Royal Navy, four Wildcats from the 815 Naval Air Squadron are equipped with Sea Venom missiles on this mission. These aircraft are distributed across HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Dauntless, and the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen within the Carrier Strike Group.
815 Naval Air Squadron Commanding Officer Commander James Woods said: “The introduction of Sea Venom is a step-change in our combat power. It delivers a lethal combination of precision, reach, and flexibility that allows us to strike decisively against a wide spectrum of threats in the maritime, coastal, and land domains.
“Most importantly, it gives us the ability to neutralise those threats at range. This is a transformational capability for the Fleet Air Arm and ensures that we are ready to defend and protect NATO and Allied interests at home and abroad.”
Sea Venom serves as the long-range weapon for the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (FASGW) programme, while Martlet provides short-range strike capability and is already operational.
Featuring an ‘operator-in-the-loop’ mechanism, Sea Venom allows real-time adjustments to its trajectory during flight.
In October 2024, the Royal Navy completed the first guided live firing of Sea Venom missile from the Leonardo’s AW159 Wildcat helicopter.
