UK, France sign future cruise/anti-ship missile cooperation deal

UK and French ministers of defense signed an agreement on Tuesday that will allow the two countries to jointly develop the The Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon program with MBDA.

The Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon programme will look at options to replace and improve existing Naval and Air Force weapons systems in the next decade.

Lasting up to three years, the latest agreement will help to define the missile designs and reduce risks to inform decisions about the next stage of the program.

The new generation of missiles that the two countries hope to field by 2030 will be replacing the existing Harpoon, SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles.

Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin and her French counterpart Laurent Collet-Billon today sign an agreement to explore future missile technologies with MBDA

Each country will contribute €50 million to this phase of development..

During the 2016 Amiens Summit, the UK and France formally confirmed their intent to launch this project within 12 months. This agreement now allows the Direction Générale de l’Armement to place the contract with MBDA.