• 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 …

• 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) …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2015: Taming the Wildcat (video)

  17th September 2015

  The Royal Navy has revealed more details about trials it is conducting in the Gulf region to expand the capabilities of its new AW159 Wildcat …

• Defence Notes

  DSEI 2015: Bigger export role for UK MoD

  16th September 2015

  The UK’s defence minister has set out plans for the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD) to take a greater responsibility in promoting exports in a …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2015: Narew contenders unveiled

  4th September 2015

  After a fair bit of speculation, the contenders for Poland’s short-medium range air defence missile system programme have been confirmed. The Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) …

• Land Warfare

  Choices for Narew Polish air defence

  24th August 2015

  The Polish MoD will replace its ageing air defence systems under a new procurement project due to launch next year. But Poland has a difficult …

• Land Warfare

  SBDS receives MMP warhead order

  9th July 2015

  MBDA France has awarded a warhead production contract to Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland (SBDS) for MMP medium-range missiles, the company announced on 7 July. Deliveries …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MBDA laser effector defeats mini drone

  22nd June 2015

  MBDA Deutschland conducted a test in which it deployed a laser effector for the first time to find, track and defeat a mini drone, the …

• Land Warfare

  German GBAD competition gets testy

  10th June 2015

  The competition for the new Tactical Air Defence system to be fielded by the German Air Force is heating up. And whilst the two main …

• Military Logistics

  BAE supports Indian Hawks

  29th May 2015

  BAE Systems signed an MoU with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to support the upgrade of Indian Hawk Mk 132 advanced jet trainers, as announced on …

• Naval Warfare

  FREMM Aquitaine continues verification test firings

  21st May 2015

  The frigate Aquitaine, a part of the multi-mission frigate program (FREMM), fired an Exocet MM40 surface-to-surface missile on 12 May and a naval cruise missile …

• Naval Warfare

  OCCAR orders seven vessels for Italian Navy

  12th May 2015

  The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has signed an order for the construction of seven vessels for the Italian Navy with Fincantieri and Finmeccanica. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) (FCAS) [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

  Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) (FCAS) [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 ...

• 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

  Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) (FCAS) [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 ...

• 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]

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• 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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VBCI (Qatar)

  Programme Background The VBCI-2 was selected in preference to a competing offer comprising Patria's AMV 8x8 equipped with a Lockheed Martin turret. However, at the ...

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 ...

• 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, ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Expendable Remote Carrier (ERC)

  The Expendable Remote Carrier (ERC) is an experimental autonomous system that MBDA revealed at the Paris Air Show 2023.  A critical part of the FCAS programme, ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Aster 15

  The Aster 15 is a vertically launched surface-to-air missile produced by Eurosam, a joint venture between MBDA France, MBDA Italy and the Thales Group. It ...

• 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, ...

• Artillery rockets

  Thundart

  Thundart is a 22 mm GPS/INS guided artillery rocket being developed by MBDA and French Safran for M270 LRU MLRS of the French Army.