• Defence Notes

  RAF tests enhanced Brimstone

  10th May 2016

  The latest technical enhancements of the MBDA Brimstone air-to-surface missile have been tested in operational trials by the Royal Air Force (RAF) at China Lake …

• Naval Warfare

  DSA 2016: First NGPV-LCS due in 2019

  20th April 2016

  The Next Generation Patrol Vessel - Littoral Combat Ship (NGPV-LCS) is destined to be an important platform for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) once it …

• Defence Notes

  DSA 2016: Triple strike options from MBDA

  16th April 2016

  The European missile house MBDA is promoting Sea Ceptor, Sea Venom and EMADS to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). With old Otomat and Aspide missile systems aboard the …

• Land Warfare

  DSA 2016: NIMR sets sights on Far East

  13th April 2016

  Middle Eastern vehicle manufacturer NIMR is targeting South East Asia as a market for its new vehicles as is builds up its facilities in the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore declassifies IAI radar

  6th April 2016

  The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) put its new Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) Elta Systems radar through its paces at the recent Exercise Cope …

• Land Warfare

  DefExpo 2016: Indian Army homes in on SAMs

  1st April 2016

  An earlier survey of Indian Amy air defence requirements discussed antiaircraft artillery and VSHORADS. A third area of need is for short-range surface-to-air missiles (SR-SAM). …

• Land Warfare

  DefExpo 2016: Indian air defence still up in the air

  1st April 2016

  The Indian Army currently has several air defence programmes on the go. These include antiaircraft artillery, very short-range air defence systems (VSHORADS), which are outlined …

• Naval Warfare

  Qatar signs MoU for coastal missile system

  31st March 2016

  MBDA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a coastal defence system to the Qatar Emiri Naval Force (QENF), it announced on 30 …

• Naval Warfare

  DIMDEX 2016: Qatar spending spree

  30th March 2016

  Additional maintenance, equipment and training MoU’s were signed for the Qatar Emiri Armed Forces on 30 March. The contracts were with companies such as MBDA, Thales …

• Naval Warfare

  MBDA completes SIMBAD-RC trial

  18th March 2016

  MBDA has successfully completed two Mistral firings using a SIMBAD-RC firing post, the company announced on 17 March, marking the last technical milestone before customer …

• Land Warfare

  MBDA outlines key countries for FLAADS

  18th March 2016

  MBDA has identified at least four countries that could be potential customers for its land-based future local area air defense system (FLAADS), currently in development …

• Defence Helicopter

  Apache to fire Brimstone this year

  17th March 2016

  The first firing of a Brimstone missile from a Boeing AH-64E Apache is planned for later this year as part of a feasibility study funded …

• Land Warfare

  Aster missile upgrade underway

  15th January 2016

  The EUROSAM consortium has been awarded a contract to develop a new version of the Aster 30 Block 1 missile for the French Ministry of …

• Defence Helicopter

  H225M integration with AM39 begins tests

  7th December 2015

  In-lab testing of the Exocet AM39 missile integrated with the H225M helicopter for the Brazilian Navy has begun, with several simulated missile launches undertaken during …

• Military Logistics

  MBDA to sustain UK ASRAAM stocks

  22nd September 2015

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a contract to MBDA to sustain the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Deluge (First batch) [France]

  Background Unveiling MBDA unveiled a scale model of the One-Way Effector (OWE), later named the Deluge, at the Paris Air Show 2025. As Breaking Defence reported at the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Uncontracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

• Loitering munitions

  Deluge (Additional batches) [France]

  Background Unveiling MBDA unveiled a scale model of the One-Way Effector (OWE), later named the Deluge, at the Paris Air Show 2025. As Breaking Defence reported at the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae: Medium-range loitering munition [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (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 ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  Long-Range Ground Strike (FLP-T) [France]

  Background The French Army currently operates the M270 as its only MLRS. France previously procured a total of 55, though this number had reduced to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Contracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Nauru 1000C [Brazil]

  Background Contract award The Logistics Command (COLOG) of the Brazilian Army purchased three Nauru 1000C UAVs, training, 36-month integrated logistics support, two EO/MWIR XSIS 222A gimbals, ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA. The NX70 is designed to support infantry units by conducting battlefield ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Deluge

  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2025, Deluge, formally known as the One-Way Effector (OWE), is a loitering munition and low-cost cruise missile from MBDA. The ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Italian LDEW (Leonardo/MBDA)

  As announced in December 2024, Leonardo and MBDA are collaborating to produce a Fire Unit Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) for the Italian Navy. The ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  DragonFire

  DragonFire is a laser weapon system built for the UK MoD and manufactured by a consortium of manufacturers. The primary manufacturer is MBDA, though they ...

• Air: chaff/flare/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 ...

• 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 ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  German LDEW (Rheinmetall/MBDA)

  Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany's collaborative work on laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) technology has resulted in a German laser weapon system that is close to being ...