The UK Defense Ministry expects to field the MBDA Spear 3 mini cruise missile on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter starting in fiscal year 2028-29.
Thales expects the Iran war to drive long-term air defense demand, while noting air travel disruptions could be a headwind for commercial aviation activities.
The EU will spend €1.07 billion ($1.26 billion) to fund 57 defense development projects, including funding for loitering munitions and space-based programs.
Hypersonix Launch Systems and the UK business of European missile manufacturer MBDA will collaborate on a series of hypersonic weapon development efforts.
London wants to buy more Thales air defense missiles to aid Gulf allies drawn into the Iran war and convened talks with industry to see what more could be done.
Thales says the ability to quickly deliver the Eurosam SAMP/T NG could give the air and missile defense system an edge over the rival Raytheon Patriot system.
European missile-maker MBDA has secured a backlog of orders now valued at around €44 billion ($52 billion), joint venture partner BAE Systems disclosed Feb. 18.
Indra says it will introduce upgrades for MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile that should extend the data link range and increase resilience.
The UK defense ministry has aked MBDA to examine if the Aster surface-to-air missile can be launched from Lockheed Martin’s MK 41 vertical launch system.
The French Defense Innovation Fund and MBDA have taken a stake in NanoXplore, a company specializing in reprogrammable special-purposes semiconductors.
South Korea awarded KAI a KRW 685.9 billion contract to launch testing for the air-to-ground configuration of the KF-21 Boramae fighter on a new timeline.
The integration of the MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile onto the CTOL Lockheed Martin F-35 has advanced, with ground-based testing beginning.
