European firms plan exo-atmospheric interceptor for 2027 test

PARIS — Five European defense firms led by startup Destinus plan to form an industrial partnership to develop Europe’s first exo-atmospheric interceptor, aimed at defending against ballistic missiles, with plans to conduct a test of the kill vehicle in space in 2027.

Destinus, MBDA, Safran, Airbus and Thales signed a letter of intent in Paris on Tuesday to set up the Bliksem EXO consortium, with the intention of entering a binding agreement within three months and starting joint engineering work in August, the companies said in a joint statement .

As Russia has stepped up ballistic missile output, Europe lacks its own system to intercept medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles mid-course, before re-entry vehicles enter the atmosphere. The continent currently relies on two United States-operated Aegis Ashore sites that use the SM-3 interceptor for exo-atmospheric defense, while Germany is buying Israel’s Arrow-3 system.

“Europe has strong lower-layer missile defenses, but it still lacks a sovereign European upper layer against medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles,” Destinus CEO Mikhail Kokorich said in the statement. “Bliksem EXO is designed to close that gap through direct hit-to-kill interception above the atmosphere.”

The letter of intent was signed at the inaugural meeting of an anti-ballistic coalition announced this week , with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten present.

Bliksem EXO is intended to defeat ballistic threats, including systems in the class of Russia’s intermediate-range Oreshnik with separating and maneuvering re-entry vehicles, the companies said. The interceptor system will be designed to detect, track and defeat MRBM and IRBM threats though a kinetic hit-to-kill impact, without an explosive warhead.

Destinus will serve as the consortium lead, responsible for the system integration and the exo-atmospheric kill vehicle, the companies said. The Netherlands-based startup currently develops unmanned systems, including the Ruta Block 2 cruise missile, as well as turbojet engines.

MBDA Deutschland will handle the interceptor booster, launcher and canister; Safran Electronics & Defense will provide the kill vehicle seeker and guidance, navigation and control; Airbus Defence and Space will work on command-and-control and battle management; and Thales will be in charge of the radar and sensor chain, from early warning to fire control, according to the statement.

The new interceptor system will complement existing and planned European lower-layer defenses, rather than compete with them, as it will operate above terminal and theater-level systems as part of a layered European missile defense, the firms said.

The program will be designed for full interoperability with NATO’s integrated air and missile defense and strengthen the European Sky Shield Initiative “by addressing the currently missing upper layer,” according to the companies. Germany has previously proposed Arrow-3 as the exo-atmospheric component of ESSI.

System design, testing and evaluation will draw on Ukraine’s experience in countering massed air and missile attacks, the firms said.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——由初创公司 Destinus 牵头的五家欧洲国防公司计划成立工业合作伙伴关系，开发欧洲首个外大气层拦截器，旨在防御弹道导弹，并计划于 2027 年在太空对该拦截器进行测试。

Destinus、MBDA、Safran、Airbus 和 Thales 周二在巴黎签署了一份意向书，成立 Bliksem EXO 财团，计划在三个月内达成具有约束力的协议，并于 8 月开始联合工程工作。这些公司在一份联合声明中表示。

随着俄罗斯弹道导弹产量的大幅提升，欧洲缺乏自身拦截中程和中远程弹道导弹的系统，无法在导弹重​​返大气层之前将其拦截。目前，欧洲大陆主要依赖美国运营的两处陆基宙斯盾防御系统，该系统使用SM-3拦截导弹进行大气层外防御；而德国则正在采购以色列的箭-3系统。

“欧洲拥有强大的低层导弹防御系统，但仍然缺乏自主的、针对中远程弹道导弹的高层防御系统，”Destinus公司首席执行官米哈伊尔·科科里奇在声明中表示。“Bliksem EXO旨在通过在大气层外进行直接拦截来弥补这一空白。”

本周宣布成立的反弹道导弹联盟首次会议上签署了意向书，荷兰首相罗布·杰滕出席了会议。

据两家公司称，Bliksem EXO旨在拦截弹道导弹威胁，包括俄罗斯“奥列什尼克”中程导弹及其分离式机动再入飞行器等类型的导弹系统。该拦截系统无需爆炸性弹头，即可通过动能撞击摧毁中程弹道导弹（MRBM）和中程弹道导弹（IRBM）。

据两家公司称，Destinus将作为该联盟的牵头方，负责系统集成和大气层外拦截飞行器。这家总部位于荷兰的初创公司目前致力于开发无人系统，包括Ruta Block 2巡航导弹以及涡轮喷气发动机。

根据声明，MBDA德国公司将负责拦截弹助推器、发射器和发射筒；赛峰电子与防务公司将提供拦截弹导引头和制导、导航与控制系统；空中客车防务与航天公司将负责指挥控制和作战管理；泰雷兹公司将负责从预警到火控的雷达和传感器链。

该公司表示，新型拦截系统将补充现有和计划中的欧洲低层防御系统，而不是与它们竞争，因为它将作为分层式欧洲导弹防御系统的一部分，在末端和战区级系统之上运行。

据相关公司称，该项目旨在与北约一体化防空反导系统实现全面互操作，并通过“弥补目前缺失的上层防御”来加强欧洲天空盾牌计划。德国此前曾提议将“箭-3”导弹作为欧洲天空盾牌计划的大气层外防御组件。

两家公司表示，系统设计、测试和评估将借鉴乌克兰在应对大规模空袭和导弹袭击方面的经验。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。