MBDA eyes a long-range strike missile boom in Europe

COLOGNE, Germany — Pan-European missile maker MBDA is positioning itself as the prime candidate for developing a long-range European strike missile meant to elevate the continent’s deterrence posture following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war there.

Calls for such a weapon comes from the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA) initiative, a French initiative to which Germany, Poland and Italy signed on at the NATO summit in Washington last week.

With an envisioned range of more than 1,000 kilometers, the missile would provide, in sizable numbers, what the German defense ministry calls a “deep precision strike” capability sought by NATO. The multinational initiative will entail “joint development and procurement,” according to a German defense ministry readout published online following a meeting last month of the German, French and Polish defense ministers.

While MBDA isn’t saying that the company is part of the contractor considerations, executives have unveiled a new missile that would fit the bill.

The firm presented its Land Cruise Missile at the Eurosatory defense show near Paris in June, touting the system as a “unique European sovereign solution” for a land-based deep-strike capability with stealth and terrain-following capabilities. The LCM is based on the naval cruise missile in service on French frigates and attack submarines, with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.

The missile maker welcomed the letter of intent signed in Washington for a precision deep-strike capability as “a new step for European industry” in a July 12 post on the social network X, saying it has “unrivaled ability” in Europe to develop such capabilities. MBDA added it’s the only company that has the technology, expertise and cross-border partnerships to deliver European-designed deep-strike systems.

In addition to the French naval cruise missile, MBDA manufactures the French-British Scalp/Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile and Germany’s Taurus missile, which have shorter ranges. The company is the largest European missile maker by a margin, with 2023 revenue of €4.5 billion and an order book of €28 billion at the end of last year.

The French government has repeatedly cited MBDA as a successful model for European defense cooperation. The company is a pan-European joint venture between Airbus, the U.K.’s BAE Systems and Italy’s Leonardo, and local units in the U.K., France, Germany and Italy provide those countries’ governments with an ability to shield some national defense interests.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of National Defence told Defense News that Poland is in dialog with its allies regarding the development of capacities in all operational domains, including long-range strike capabilities.

“One of such initiatives is the ELSA program which is the subject of international analyses and consultations which may also bring further recommendations and decisions on this matter,” the spokesperson said. “The development of the ability to conduct long-range precision strikes is now widely recognized as a key element of the response to negative changes in the international security environment. This capability is not only of operational importance, but also of strategic importance, constituting an important component of the defense and deterrence posture.”

The ministry representative did not disclose whether Poland’s defense industry could be involved in the program’s development, and what kind of capabilities it could contribute to the joint effort. The country’s defense sector is dominated by state-owned defense giant PGZ. In cooperation with foreign partners, the group is leading Polish industrial efforts to enhance the military’s artillery and missile capacities, among others.

“The decision on Poland’s possible accession to this program will be based, among others, on whether its final scope will be consistent with our capacity development needs,” the spokesperson said.

The U.S. will start deploying long-range fires units to Germany in 2026, according to a joint statement from both the U.S. and German governments released last week during the NATO summit. The capabilities will include the SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles and “developmental hypersonic weapons,” the statement details.

Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris and Jaroslaw Adamowski in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

德国科隆——泛欧导弹制造商MBDA正将自己定位为开发远程欧洲打击导弹的首选候选者，旨在提升欧洲大陆在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰和持续战争后的威慑态势。

对这种武器的呼吁来自欧洲远程打击方案（ELSA）倡议，这是一项法国倡议，德国、波兰和意大利在上周华盛顿举行的北约峰会上签署了该倡议。

这款导弹预计射程超过1000公里，能够大规模提供德国国防部所称的北约寻求的“纵深精确打击”能力。根据德国国防部上月在德法波兰三国国防部长会晤后发布的网络新闻稿，这项多国合作计划将涉及“联合研发和采购”。

虽然 MBDA 没有表示该公司是承包商考虑范围之一，但其高管已经推出了一款符合要求的新型导弹。

该公司于6月在巴黎附近的欧洲防务展上展示了其陆基巡航导弹，并称该系统是“欧洲独有的自主解决方案”，具备陆基纵深打击能力，并拥有隐身和地形跟踪能力。该陆基巡航导弹以法国护卫舰和攻击型潜艇上现役的海军巡航导弹为基础，射程超过1000公里。

导弹制造商MBDA在7月12日于社交网络X上发帖，对在华盛顿签署的关于精确纵深打击能力的意向书表示欢迎，称其为“欧洲工业发展的新一步”，并表示该公司在欧洲拥有“无可比拟的能力”来开发此类能力。MBDA还补充说，它是唯一一家拥有技术、专业知识和跨境合作伙伴关系，能够交付欧洲设计的纵深打击系统的公司。

除了法国海军巡航导弹外，MBDA 还生产法英联合研制的“风暴阴影”（Scalp/Storm Shadow）空射巡航导弹和德国的“金牛座”（Taurus）导弹，后两者的射程较短。该公司是欧洲最大的导弹制造商，2023 年营收达 45 亿欧元，截至去年年底的订单总额达 280 亿欧元。

法国政府曾多次将MBDA视为欧洲防务合作的成功典范。该公司是由空中客车公司、英国BAE系统公司和意大利莱昂纳多公司合资成立的泛欧企业，其在英国、法国、德国和意大利的本地分支机构为这些国家的政府提供了保护部分国家国防利益的能力。

与此同时，波兰国防部发言人告诉《防务新闻》，波兰正在与盟友就所有作战领域（包括远程打击能力）的能力发展进行对话。

发言人表示：“其中一项举措是远程精确打击（ELSA）计划，该计划目前正在接受国际分析和磋商，相关方面可能会就此提出进一步的建议和决定。发展远程精确打击能力已被广泛认为是应对国际安全环境负面变化的关键要素。这种能力不仅具有作战意义，而且具有战略意义，是防御和威慑态势的重要组成部分。”

该部代表并未透露波兰国防工业是否会参与该项目的研发，以及能够为联合研发贡献哪些能力。波兰国防工业由国有国防巨头PGZ主导。PGZ集团与外国合作伙伴携手，引领波兰国防工业提升军方火炮和导弹等装备能力。

发言人表示：“波兰是否可能加入该计划的决定，将取决于该计划的最终范围是否符合我们的能力发展需求等因素。”

根据美德两国政府上周在北约峰会期间发表的联合声明，美国将于2026年开始向德国部署远程火力支援部队。声明详细指出，这些部队将配备SM-6和战斧导弹以及“正在研发中的高超音速武器”。

巴黎的 Rudy Ruitenberg 和波兰华沙的 Jaroslaw Adamowski 对本报告做出了贡献。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。