• Defence Notes

  Greece signs on the dotted line for MBDA weapons

  4th April 2022

  Following the signing of contracts to purchase French-built frigates and fighter jets, Greece has signed agreements with MBDA for the supply of naval and aerial weaponry.

• Naval Warfare

  Down, but not out (Comment)

  10th May 2022

  The sinking in April of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea flagship, although not evidence of a major change in the naval domain, is a far cry from the pre-emptive scuttling of Ukraine’s own flagship. The donation of increasingly advanced materiel demonstrates increased faith in Ukraine’s ability to resist the Russian invaders.

• Naval Warfare

  UK to supply Ukraine with unspecified anti-ship missiles

  12th April 2022

  The commitment to provide Ukraine with anti-ship missile systems came following a surprise visit to Kyiv by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday, 9 April.

• Land Warfare

  Nioa oversees delivery of Australia’s Land 159

  26th April 2022

  Land 159 is a wide-ranging programme to enhance the weaponry of Australian soldiers. Tranche 1 buys have been approved to proceed.

• Land Warfare

  Nexter teams with Greek partner to propose IFV for Hellenic Army

  5th April 2022

  Philoctetes is being offered to meet a Greek requirement for modernised IFVs.

• Naval Warfare

  Greece signs contracts for FDI frigates

  25th March 2022

  Greece will receive three frigates by 2026 under a deal with France's Naval Group.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall and MBDA team up in Italy for air defence MoU

  10th March 2022

  The Italian subsidiaries of MBDA and Rheinmetall aim to develop new business opportunities in the air defence sector.

• Naval Warfare

  Poland doubles Kormoran minehunter fleet

  24th March 2022

  Three more Kormoran II-class vessels will join the expanding Polish Navy with deliveries planned for 2025-2027.

• Naval Warfare

  Anglo-French Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon takes long-awaited step forward

  24th February 2022

  Work will assess two missile concepts, one subsonic and one supersonic.

• Air Warfare

  UK funds additional F-35 squadron but doubts persist over future fleet total

  22nd February 2022

  The UK has committed to spend more money on a second tranche of F-35B fighter jets but it has not divulged how many it plans to buy.

• Defence Notes

  India hopes for future field days for foreign producers

  28th February 2022

  Delhi wants to develop an advanced military production ecosystem, where foreign manufacturers invest, produce and export from India.

• Naval Warfare

  Babcock wins Polish Miecznik frigate competition

  4th March 2022

  Under the Miecznik programme, Poland will build three new frigates locally using the Babcock Arrowhead 140 design.

• Naval Warfare

  RN plans Type 45 ballistic missile defence, eyes future counter-hypersonic capability

  28th February 2022

  The UK RN will upgrade its Type 45 destroyers to provide a ballistic missile defence capability while detailing plans for the ship's replacements to feature counter-hypersonic equipment.

• Naval Warfare

  RN will have to play catch-up to achieve hypersonic ambitions

  18th February 2022

  Comments from the head of the RN about hypersonic ambitions came shortly before UK officials met with their French counterparts to progress the joint Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon project.

• Defence Notes

  Leonardo claims ‘no evidence of issues’ on Kuwaiti Eurofighter deal

  25th January 2022

  Following reports of two individuals being referred for prosecution due to allegedly misusing public funds, linked to an order for 28 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, Leonardo has said it is not subject to a judicial investigation.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri [France]

  Programme Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Remote Carrier (RC) [Germany]

  Programme Background FCAS Project As noted by Airbus, the FCAS project is a tri-nation effort which will be centred around a core Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS), which ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Remote Carrier (RC) [France]

  Programme Background FCAS Project As noted by Airbus, the FCAS project is a tri-nation effort which will be centred around a core Next-Generation Weapon System ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Remote Carrier (RC) [Spain]

  Programme Background FCAS Project As noted by Airbus, the FCAS project is a tri-nation effort which will be centred around a core Next-Generation Weapon System ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Rafale Follow-On (Egypt)

  Programme Background Egypt was reported to request 12 Rafale fighters following an earlier contract in 2015. However, this deal fell into limbo after the Pentagon blocked ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [Italy]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that the Italian, British and Japanese components of GCAP are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2019: In September 2019, the UK and Italian ...

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Rafale [France]

  Programme Background Rafale F4 is the latest configuration of the Rafale fighter jet family. New functions will also be developed to improve the aircraft’s capabilities ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Remote Carrier [French Navy]

  Background Carrier Air Wing Plan The French Navy presented a broad plan for its carrier air wing for the future decades at a briefing at ...

• Frigates

  Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) [Saudi Arabia]

  Programme Background The US State Department approved a possible $11.25 billion Foreign Military Sale to the KSA for MMCS ships and associated equipment, parts and ...

• Loitering munitions

  Project Brakestop [UK]

  Background Information Notice On 25 September 2024, the UK MoD published a prior information notice on Project Brakestop, which informed the industry about the upcoming competition ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Future Combat Air System (FCAS/SCAF) [France]

  Programme Background The governments of France and Germany have launched the demonstrator phase for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) with the issue of an ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Future Combat Air System (FCAS/SCAF) [Spain]

  Programme Background Programme Timeline The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) was publicly announced in July 2017, followed by a Franco-German agreement in 2018. At the ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Future Combat Air System (FCAS/SCAF) [Germany]

  Background Requirement The FCAS programme is based on the system-of-systems design, envisioning a "command fighter" aircraft that has stand-alone combat capability as well as controlling ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Sherpa Light [Morocco]

  Programme Background Morocco is in the midst of procuring large quantities of defence equipment from the French defence industry to modernise its forces, with much ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Guided munitions

  SmartGlider Light

  The SmartGlider Light is a precision-guided air-to-ground munition developed by MBDA, designed to enhance the strike capabilities of modern combat aircraft. MBDA anticipates that the ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  VL MICA RF

  The VL MICA missile is derived from the original MICA air-to-air missile developed by MBDA. The VL MICA system's first iteration was developed for naval ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  VL MICA IR

  The VL MICA missile is derived from the original MICA air-to-air missile developed by MBDA. The VL MICA system's first iteration was developed for naval ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Aster 30

  The ASTER-30 is a vertically launched surface-to-air missile produced by Eurosam, a joint venture between MBDA France, MBDA Italy, and the Thales Group. Its basic ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  SHARCS

  The SHARCS is a flying testbed UAV from MBDA Deutschland, which supports the testing of various sub-systems, including avionics, sensor technology, algorithms, networking, and data links. MBDA ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  CAMM

  The Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) is a short-range, anti-aircraft and anti-missile surface-to-air missile. Developed to be launched from maritime platforms, land-based platforms and aircraft, ...

• Air: chaff, flare and decoy systems

  SAPHIR-M

  SAPHIR-M is a chaff and flare dispensing system for the Tiger and NH90, and is also offered for other helicopters. It offers a high decoy ...

• Naval guns, Land: RWS

  DragonFire

  Dragonfire is a new laser weapon system built for the UK MoD, receiving £30 million of funding in early 2017. The design of the gun ...

• Loitering munitions

  Crossbow

  MBDA unveiled Crossbow, a ground-launched One Way Effector Heavy (OWE(H)) at DSEI 2025. Equipped to carry kinetic or non-kinetic payloads up to 300kg, the turbojet-powered OWE(H) ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  MPCV

  The Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle (MPCV) is a 4x4 armoured vehicle developed by Soframe on the Mercedes-Benz Unimog 5000 truck chassis. Able to accommodate between four ...

• SABER

  The Small Air Bomb Extended Range (SABER) family is being developed to provide a low-cost weapon for small and medium-sized UAVs and small tactical UAVs. ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  MEADS

  The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) provides 360° defence against existing and future tactical or medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, UAVs and aircraft. MEADS ...

• Surface-to-surface missiles

  MdCN-NCM (Naval Cruise Missile)

  Developed by MBDA to meet the needs of the French Navy, the MdCN-NCM is a long-range cruise missile capable of being launched from surface and below-surface vessels. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  Brimstone

  MBDA developed the Brimstone missile to provide an air-to-surface missile to equip UK RAF Tornados. The Dual Mode Brimstone (DMB) semi-active laser and the millimetre-wave, ...