MOD signs £184M contract to secure air-to-air missiles for the F-35

Air August 17, 2016

A contract worth £184M has been awarded by the MOD, to ensure UK’s new aircraft will be equipped with latest missile.

The new contract awarded by the Minister of Defence (MOD), worth around £184M, will see the UK’ new supersonic stealth combat aircraft equipped with the latest air-to-air missile.

ASRAAM is an advanced heat seeking weapon which will allow the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy F-35B Lightning II pilots, operating from land and the UK’s two new aircraft carriers, the ability to defeat current and future air adversaries.

The ASRAAM uses a sophisticated infra-red seeker, which is capable of engaging hostile air targets ranging in size from large multi-engined aircraft to small drones.

The contract will see MBDA manufacture an additional stockpile of an updated version of the weapon, allowing F-35 combat jets to use the missile beyond 2022, with further works to integrate the new missile onto the UK’s fleet carried out under a separate contract.

Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin said: “Wholly designed and built in the UK, this air-to-air missile on our F-35 aircraft will secure cutting-edge air power for the UK for years to come.

“This contract will sustain around 400 jobs across the country and is part of the MOD’s £178Bn Equipment Plan which is backed by a defence budget that will increase every year from now until the end of the decade.”

Work on MBDA’s new £40M state of the art manufacturing facility is nearing completion in the Logistic North commercial development in Bolton, which is where work on ASRAAM will be carried out. The investment in the new facility is a demonstration of the commitment by the company to maintain highly skilled engineering workers in the region and the best standard of equipment required by the UK’s armed forces.

The award is part of an agreement with MBDA, which is sustaining around 200 jobs at the company’s sites in Bristol, Stevenage and Bolton, with a further 200 sustained across the supply chain.

Chief Executive Officer at the MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support organisation, Tony Douglas said: “ASRAAM will provide vital offensive and defensive options for UK F-35 pilots against a wide range of air-to-air threats.

“The project to update the weapon and integrate it with the F-35, the world’s most advanced combat aircraft, provides a clear example of the MOD and UK industry working effectively together to provide our UK Armed Forces with the best equipment possible.”

ASRAAM MBDA MOD