FIA 2026: Raytheon UK offers Red Kite as ‘high-low mix’ weapon for RAF
Red Kite is built around the proven Stormbreaker airframe but incorporates UK-developed guidance, fuse and warhead systems. (Photo: Raytheon)
Raytheon UK has unveiled Red Kite, a sovereign precision weapon built on the Stormbreaker airframe, betting on digital engineering to deliver affordable stockpile mass for the Royal Air Force.
Raytheon UK has unveiled Red Kite, its first sovereign precision weapon fully designed and digitally engineered in the UK.
The company is aiming to position itself to expand its role as a design authority for the Royal Air Force (RAF) beyond its long-running Paveway IV programme.
The weapon was formally announced during Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2026, following an embargoed briefing for journalists at Raytheon UK’s Harlow site.
Built on an established airframe
Red Kite reuses the airframe of Raytheon’s Stormbreaker, the glide bomb already integrated on the F-35B, F/A-18 and F-15, which is manufactured in Europe before
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