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PARIS --- The Italian Ministry of Defense has authorized funding for development and acquisition of the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM), being developed by MBDA for the United Kingdom, to replace its Aspide / Spada missiles, which are to be retired from 2021. Italy is interested in the Extended Range version of CAMM, and has earmarked €95 million as its contribution to development costs; the first €5 million will be paid this year, according to a June 6 memorandum signed by Lt. Gen. Francesco Castrataro, director of army procurement at the defense ministry's procurement division, Segredifesa. In the memorandum, which...

The French Navy now has at its disposal a new sea-based deep-strike capability. The first MdCN naval cruise missiles quietly entered service in February as part of the combat systems carried by the force’s first FREMM multimission frigates. FREMM frigate Provence (© FRENCH NAVY) Six FREMMs to carry cruise missiles by 2019 The French fleet will soon count three FREMM frigates armed with MdCN cruise missiles, the first of their type to be developed in Europe. The Aquitaine and Provence followed by the Languedoc which is scheduled to enter service in a few weeks. By 2019, these three will be...

An F-35 fighter is shown with ASRAAM missiles. Britain will introduce the missile on F-35Bs in 2022. (Photo: Lockheed Martin) The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) awarded manufacturer MBDA a £184 million ($240 million) contract to supply an updated version of its infrared-guided ASRAAM missile for British F-35B Lightning II fighters. ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) will be the first British-designed missile to enter service on the F-35. ASRAAM is currently in service with Royal Air Force Typhoon and Tornado fighters and is being carried daily on missions over Iraq and Syria as part of the coalition campaign against...

For years now there has been a ton of hype about MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, but now that it has reached operational status, blanket claims are being tossed around in the media as to its capabilities: headlines like “the best in the world“ and “the most deadly” are commonplace. But is it really that simple? Is the Meteor the dream missile every western fighter needs under its wings or in its weapons bays or is it a niche capability? Rising Meteor The truth is that the Meteor isn’t that new at all as it has been in development for...

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- A newly developed airborne missile by European missile manufacturer MBDA will provide South Korea with "air superiority" over North Korea and other powerful neighbors if they are loaded onto the F-35 combat fighters to be delivered to the country in the coming years, the firm's official said Tuesday. Under a deal signed last year, South Korea will bring in 40 F-35A jet fighters, the fifth-generation platform with stealth capacities from Lockheed Martin, from 2018 to 2021 to better guard against North Korean threats. The F-35A fleet will initially be equipped with the U.S.' AIM-120 Advanced...

MBDA is introducing today at the Paris Air Show a new, modular approach to missile design, as part of its traditional ‘Concept Vision’ theme. The new design dubbed ‘FlexIS’ is designed in standard diameters and comprises a common bus and flight control system, modular, contactless interface linking the seeker bay in the front and modular processor bank, providing the missile’s brain, located at the center. The rear part is also modular, accepting a variety of propulsion modules – miniature turbojet, single or dual pulse rocket with different propellant capacity supporting a broad range of applications. Different warheads can be used,...

Air Recognition learned some of the contract details signed between missiles manufacturer MBDA and the Qatar Emirate. According to an industry source who wished to remain unnamed, this contract includes the full range of Rafale weapons available for export: Exocet AM 39 Block II, SCALP, AASM, MICA IR, MICA EM and Meteor missiles. Air Recognition understands this order would be the largest export contract ever signed by MBDA. An AM39 Exocet Anti-ship missile fitted on a Rafale center fuselage pylon (along with 6x MICA missiles and 2 external fuel tanks) ( Picture: MBDA) In addition to the 24 Rafale fighter...

<p>ANKARA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Turkey will go ahead with plans to order a $3.4-billion missile defence system from China, Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz said, despite U.S. and NATO concerns over security and compatibility of weaponry.</p>

As part of the EURONAVAL Press Tour, Navy Recognition had the chance to visit the MBDA site of Selles Saint Denis last week. This “missile factory” is the European Missile Integration Center. During our tour, we got the chance to see the production lines of the Exocet family of anti-ship missiles, Mica and Aster anti-air missiles and Scalp cruise missiles. But the highlight of the visit was by far when MBDA showed us two freshly assembled Naval Cruise Missile (NCM or MdCN in French). NCM Programme The ability to strike strategic and military targets with exceptional precision from extended stand-off...

MBDA was showcasing its SPEAR 3 missile at the Farnborough International Air Show 2014. SPEAR is MBDA’s response to a component of the UK’s Selective Precision Effects At Range air launched requirement. The weapon will maximize the potential of the UK’s future combat air capability, matching the weapon to the aircraft: “a 5th generation weapon for a 5th generation fast jet”. MBDA Artist impressions showing: Left: the SPEAR missile can be "quad packed" per each F-35 weapon bay (8x missiles total). Right: SPEAR could well become the missile of choice for anti-surface missions to be conducted in the near future...

Navy Recognition has learned that the U.S. Navy is beginning environmental and integration analysis of the UK’s combat proven Dual Mode Brimstone missile for F/A-18 Super Hornets. This activity is funded and being managed by the US Navy. Additionally, two recent positive reports from committees of the U.S Congress have expanded the funding in Fiscal Year 2015 by $10M for Dual Mode Brimstone on F/A-18s and asked for the Secretary of Defense’s views on dual mode missile technology. This news is matched by the UK MOD funding BAE Systems 5M British Pounds to begin an integration analysis of Dual Mode...

MBDA’s Meteor missile has successfully completed a firing campaign on board the Saab Gripen fighter, marking the complete validation of the integration of the weapon with the aircraft. The testing of the beyond visual range air-to-air missile was conducted in March in collaboration with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), and was the last major milestone the Meteor had to pass before it could enter operational service on board the Swedish air force's Gripen C/Ds. The Meteor capability is being added to Sweden's Gripens under the Material System 20 combat systems upgrade for the air force, which will become the...

Mumbai: Deals worth at least £370 million (around Rs.3,800 crore) were signed between India and the UK on Monday, the first day of a visit by George Osborne, the British chancellor of the exchequer, and William Hague, the country’s foreign secretary. The Indian Air Force and companies such as the Mahindra Group and Cipla Ltd were among those that signed business agreements with UK-based corporations. Osborne told a press conference in Mumbai that India’s defence ministry has signed a £250 million contact with missile maker MBDA of the UK for the supply of advanced short range air-to-air missiles (ASRAAM) to...

(Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi Electric (6503.T) has agreed to take the first step towards a partnership with European missile maker MBDA to develop a medium-range air-to-air missile for the F-35 stealth fighter, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The preliminary deal marks an extension of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to launch Japan's military suppliers into the global arms market through international tie-ups, and thereby bring down costs for Japan's defense procurement. If successful, it would represent the first time Japanese-built components had been used on a missile sold overseas, one of a string of potential international arms...

Pentagon officials have said it ad nauseam: More competition in the defense industry is needed to spur innovation and stem rising weapon costs. In a weapons market that will become increasingly cutthroat as budgets decline, such statements are not being taken lightly by companies that are eager to challenge incumbent contractors. “We are big fans of competition,” says Doug Denneny, vice president of MBDA Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Europe’s largest missile manufacturer. MBDA has manufacturing plants in France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany. The U.S. subsidiary, based in Arlington, Va., opened a research and manufacturing facility in Westlake...

MBDA courts Middle Eastern partner for Marte missile The on-going efforts of MBDA to expand the capabilities of its anti-ship missiles could reach an important milestone in the coming months through a potential partnership in the Middle East. During the European consortium's 2012 results conference in Rome on 22 March, Antonio Perfetti, managing director of the MBDA's Italian branch and executive group director sales and business development, revealed that a Middle Eastern country is interested in the joint development of a Marte ER (extended range) version. "The growth potential of [the] Marte anti-ship missile family has attracted the interest of...

PICTURES: MBDA sharpens Spear missile design for F-35 integration European manufacturer MBDA has unveiled a UK-developed design for a next-generation air-to-surface weapon suitable for internal carriage by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. To be shown for the first time as a full-scale mock-up at the Farnborough air show, the Spear concept would use a turbojet engine and a wing kit to provide a stand-off range of about 100km (54nm). "Speed and range are the two main drivers" behind this configuration, says Rob Thornley, export working group leader for MBDA UK. "Another key requirement is to provide multiple load-out...

Royal Navy reveals new supersonic anti-missile system A new air defence system that can destroy enemy missiles travelling at supersonic speeds has been revealed by the Royal Navy. Sea Ceptor missiles fired from warships will reach speeds of up to Mach 3 and protect an area of around 500 sq miles. The £483 million contract to develop the defence system has been awarded to MBDA (UK). The Ministry of Defence said the five-year project would mean continued employment for around 500 workers. Facilities across the UK including at Stevenage in Hertfordshire, Filton in South Gloucestershire and Lostock in Bolton will...

India to spend €950 million on missiles for Mirage 2000 PTI India on Wednesday cleared a €950-million deal to procure 500 air-to-air missiles from a French firm for the Indian Air Force’s Mirage 2000 aircraft fleet. A Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday cleared the deal to procure 490 MICA missiles manufactured by French firm MBDA for €950 million, Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi. The missiles would be deployed on 51 Mirage 2000 aircraft, which are already undergoing upgrades at French facilities under a €1.47-billion deal signed earlier this year....

UK held secret briefing for India on missiles in Libyan war Manchester, Oct 16, (PTI): At a time when NATO forces were destroying the bases of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Britain gave a secret presentation to the Indian Air Force (IAF) about the performance in the Libyan war of MBDA missiles, which have been offered to New Delhi. "A presentation was given to the Indian Air Force two months ago where senior officers including the present chief (Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne) were present, about the performance of the Brim Stone precision guided missile," Frank Morgan, a senior MBDA...