MBDA secures UK ASRAAM contract
MBDA will produce ASRAAM infra-red guided air-to-air missiles for the UK’s F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet under a £184 million contract with the UK Ministry of Defence announced on 16 August.
Designed and manufactured in the UK, ASRAAM is an advanced heat-seeking weapon which will give Royal Air Force and Royal Navy F-35B Lightning II aircraft the ability to defeat current and future air adversaries.
The missile will be carried on the external pylons of the F-35B – there is scope for integration fit within the internal weapons bay in future.
The missile has both lock-on-before launch and a lock-on-after launch mode to carry out engagements on targets that are outside the missile’s field of view at launch.
MBDA is currently under contract for an ASRAAM capability sustainment programme for the Typhoon fast jet and this new order will see MBDA manufacture an additional stockpile of an updated version of the weapon, allowing F-35 combat jets to use the missile beyond 2022.
Work to integrate the new missile onto the UK’s F-35 fleet will be carried out under a separate contract.
More from Defence Notes
-
Leonardo CEO urges “speed as important as money” as joint ventures progress picks up
The company’s Q1 2025 results showed a 20% increase in new orders and a 15% increase in revenue across the business.
-
Rheinmetall vehicle sales almost double as European companies see continued growth
Results for Q1 2025 have been strong across the board for many defence companies in Europe with forward-looking statements and predictions for the full year also looking good.
-
Why is the defence market “exploding exponentially” for autonomous targeting capabilities?
Solutions that identify, engage and destroy targets with minimal or no human intervention are becoming critical on tomorrow’s battlefield.
-
Companies post mostly rosy results but warn of potential dark clouds
First quarter 2025 results have been dropping for companies in the past week but many of the US results come with a health warning in their forward-looking aspects about the potential impact of actions by the Trump administration.
-
Spain unveils new multi-billion euro defence investment plan
The new plan outlined how Spain would reach 2% of its GDP spend on defence by 2025, with €1.9 billion earmarked for new equipment acquisition with several land, naval and air platforms disclosed to be replaced or upgraded.
-
New Zealand boosts defence spend to US$6.6 billion and vows increased closeness with Australia
This budget will be spent over the next four years and nearly doubles the country’s defence spending as part of GDP to 2%.