MBDA to lead industry team on LynkEUs

MBDA is spearheading the development of a European BLoS network-enabled battlefield engagement capability, the manufacturer announced on 1 July.

MBDA joins 13 partners and subcontractors in five countries on the LynkEUs programme, which will be based on the Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) land combat missile system.

John Cockerill Defense, FN Herstal, Safran and Milrem are among the industry participants.

Negotiations are under way with the European Commission for a grant agreement.

‘LynkEUs is the first cooperative project in the missile systems field leveraging on the new EU defence instruments, and the first EU defence R&D project to be coordinated by MBDA,’ said MBDA CEO Eric Béranger.

As part of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme, LynkEUs is the first technological and industrial contribution to the objectives of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) Beyond Line Of Sight (BLOS) capability project. This project was included in a package approved by EU defence ministers in November 2018. MBDA is co-ordinating LynkEUs in partnership with the French, Belgian and Cypriot armed forces. The project seeks to define an initial operational concept for a European BLOS capability for mounted and dismounted forces.

Concepts and tests completed for the PESCO BLOS project will contribute to the development of a family of man-on-the loop BLOS missile systems with back image, based on the MMP medium-range missile, and under full control of the European defence industry. These new projects could be eligible for grants from the future European Defence Fund in 2021.

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