UK MoD orders additional Thales StarStreak missiles

Thales UK will supply an additional 200 StarStreak short-range surface-to-air missiles to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) under a contract announced on 11 October.

The StarStreak missile is a key component of the UK’s Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) capability. According to Thales, this order will increase StarStreak stocks as part of the MoD’s transformation agenda for the armed forces, Force 2020, to equip both the regular and reserve forces with the StarStreak systems.

The contract was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in a speech to the Northern Ireland Investment Conference in Belfast.

Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, said: ‘We saw during the Olympics last year how important our air defence capability is. This contract for 200 extra StarStreak missiles will not only provide our armed forces with a highly capable weapon, but it also secures hundreds of highly skilled defence jobs in Northern Ireland and should provide confidence to the export markets of the StarStreak system.’

David Beatty, managing director, Thales in Belfast, added:  ‘Not only will this contract sustain jobs at our facilities in Northern Ireland, but it also demonstrates very clearly to our export customers the ongoing importance and trust that the UK MoD places in the StarStreak system and our design, manufacturing and support capabilities.’

The StarStreak missile systems, and its Air Defence Alerting Device, contributed to the security of the London 2012 Olympic Games when they were deployed by the British Army at key London locations during the event.