MBDA is one of several companies feeding into the European Future Combat Air System initiative pillar around uncrewed remote carriers.
European missile manufacturer MBDA has been buoyed by increased demand for its weapons through sales of air defense systems and packages of missiles that accompany orders of Europe’s Eurofighter and Rafale combat aircraft. But with a war in Europe prompting governments to review their inventories and weapons stocks, the company is gearing up for new production demands. CEO Eric Beranger spoke to Aviation Week’s European Defense Editor Tony Osborne about new investments, supply chain challenges and the technologies the company is exploring.
- MBDA is boosting component stocks to support production
- The manufacturer is partner on both of Europe’s future fighters
AW&ST: One of the emerging lessons from the conflict in Ukraine is the need for large ammunition stocks. Are customer nations now making these demands? And is MBDA ready to deliver, or are supply chains being put on a wartime footing? We are seeing an increased demand from many customers, but it has not automatically translated into orders yet. Yes, we are seeing a lot of movement—for example, Poland’s order for its Pilica+ [point air defense upgrade program]—and there are discussions underway with several potential customers. MBDA is preparing itself. We are developing our capabilities in order to not only continue to provide these capabilities for the defense of Europe and not only to increase output, but also to increase the speed of production because the signals we are receiving from customers suggest not only a need for more volume but also for more speed. For example, production of our Mistral missile has already gone from 20 per month to 30, and we are moving toward 40 a month. We are doing this for our products in all areas of our portfolio.
Is your supply chain ready for these increases in output and speed of production? We are in regular close coordination, discussion and collaboration with our supply chain. We have around 1,600 suppliers, and we have a close relationship with them. MBDA is an integrator. A missile is usually made up of around 10,000 pieces, so the key is to have all of those pieces available in time for integration, test, etc. To be able to surge production means you cannot be just on time in your planning anymore. You need to have stocks, but not of missiles—that is a question for the governments. I mean having room for maneuver in terms of components and subsystems, and this is a regular discussion with suppliers. This is the reason why last year we decided to increase our capacity to create stocks for components worth more than €200 million [$215 million]. This is the type of decision that we are making to increase our agility, ability and reactivity. We have also been making investments in our production tools since 2018. We have invested more than €300 million to modernize our production equipment, and in the next five years we are planning to invest more than €500 million.
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Were those investments already planned before Ukraine, or are they a response to it? Events in Ukraine have prompted an acceleration. For instance, obviously the very large contract that we have just signed for Poland is requiring more production space in the UK—where we are doubling the amount of manufacturing space that we have.
Other CEOs are talking about nimbler and faster development because of events in Ukraine. There’s obviously a need to get things out faster now. Are your customers telling you the same? We should not only think about Ukraine. While it is the focal point at present, it is just one data point and we should consider the broader picture. Life cycles are accelerating for all industries, and defense is the same. I agree that we need to be able to iterate more quickly and take more small steps from which we learn as we . . . adapt to the evolution of the geopolitical environment and the various requirements of military customers.
But there’s a big “but”: We at MBDA are dealing with capabilities [that] have certain complexities. We are not dealing only with software, and we are not in the so-called apps world. Yes, the digital component is important . . . but we also deal with materials. So if we want to be on time, it demands anticipation.
I believe the debate about low-cost mass versus technology is over whether we like it or not. Ukraine is showing that we need both, and to achieve that, you need anticipation. You need anticipation of the technology because you need to create road maps, and this is the reason why it’s important to have continued sustained investments in defense and long-term contracts. Even now, certain machines for production have order times of 30 months. And if you have not anticipated this need, you can forget about it. This anticipation is absolutely crucial, and being clear about that through long-term contracts is critical to us.
Are you concerned that the rearmament of Europe often benefits U.S. defense contractors rather than European ones? What do you make of initiatives such as Germany’s European Sky Shield? Europe is at a crossroads. There is a tension between getting certain capabilities immediately and procuring them from anywhere [while] using the current budgets to strengthen European capabilities. These European countries will decide what they want to do, but of course it has a major potential impact on their sovereignty. In terms of the European Sky Shield, MBDA could be a key asset for the air defense of Europe. The company has a lot to offer in terms of air defense capability. MBDA is also the only European company with expertise in hypersonics, as we have been working in this area for 20 years now. We understand the hypersonic strike side of the coin, and we understand the threats, so as a result, we are extremely well-equipped to create the defense capability, too.
What opportunities do you see for the following programs (the French, German and Spanish Future Combat Air System and the Italian, Japanese and UK Global Combat Air Program) to have a similar suite of weapons? MBDA is involved with both programs, but today there is an absolute Chinese wall between those projects. And that is the requirement of the governments on those programs, and MBDA of course follows that. At the moment, there is no discussion between both sides. But if we were asked, MBDA does of course have the competencies to propose some weapons which could equip both platforms—the merit of that being a critical mass which could help both create a sovereign capability at an affordable level. MBDA would be a good tool for this work.
The company has directed-energy activity, particularly lasers with Dragonfire, and has acquired a majority stake in French laser and optics company Cilas. What is the MBDA vision for directed-energy weaponry, and when could we see them operational? We see more and more the potential applications of directed energy, and lasers in particular. My vision is that the laser capabilities will become part of the product portfolio and an important capacity for countering uncrewed air systems [UAS] and swarms. Last year, we announced our Sky Warden system, a suite of sensors and effectors to deal with UAS attacks. Lasers will become part of the toolbox of that system. When will such lasers become operational? Well, that is the million-dollar question. But whatever the requirements and whatever our customers finally decide, MBDA will be there with them. It all depends how fast they want to go.
