DSEI 2025: MBDA’s new SPEAR GLIDE munition breaks cover
The high-mass saturation weapon, positioned as a low-cost variant in the SPEAR portfolio, could be indigenously produced by any future customer, according to MBDA.
Elbit Systems is providing its J-MUSIC DIRCM system for installation aboard an RNLAF Gulfstream G650. (Photo: Elbit Systems)
The Netherlands MoD has awarded Elbit Systems a contract to provide its J-MUSIC direct infrared counter measures (DIRCM) system and its Infra-Red-based Passive Airborne Warning System (IR-PAWS) for installation aboard the new Gulfstream G650 aircraft for the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
‘These systems have accumulated hundreds of thousands of flight hours to date, and have been selected by numerous customers to equip more than 25 types of aircraft,’ Elbit noted in a 14 July statement.
Shephard Defence Insight states that, in contrast to other members of the MUSIC family produced by Elbit, J-MUSIC is configured as a distributed system designed to outfit medium-to-large fixed-wing aircraft.
Customers include Israel, Germany for its A400M fleet, NATO A330 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft and the UAE Air Force, which selected J-MUSIC and PAWS in January 2022 for installation on its A330 MRTTs.
‘The rising threat that aircraft face from shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles increases the demand for certified and operationally proven self-protection systems,’ noted Oren Sabag, GM of Elbit Systems ISTAR & EW.
The high-mass saturation weapon, positioned as a low-cost variant in the SPEAR portfolio, could be indigenously produced by any future customer, according to MBDA.
The updated stealth airframe model will be displayed for the first time at DSEI 2025 to showcase the maturity of the technologies and system ahead of its launch into the development phase, MBDA said.
The One-Way Effector (Heavy) (OWE(H)) was designed over seven months, with the company currently in discussions to field demonstrations of the product by Q4 2025.
With numerous nations, including the UK, committing a combined US$9.99 billion to acquiring the MQ-9B MALE UAV according to Shephard Defence Insight data, the capability now looks set to soar as UAV spending rises globally.
Launched at DSEI 2025 for the first time, the first-person-view uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) is available as 10-inch and 7-inch variant, ideal for surveillance or one-way strike missions.
As the home of British helicopters, Leonardo has worked with the UK Ministry of Defence for over a decade to advance technologies underpinning uncrewed rotorcraft. Today, in partnership with DE&S Future Capabilities Innovation and the Royal Navy, Leonardo is spearheading the next step in that journey: from remotely piloted technologies to fully autonomous systems.