MBDA renews case for building Europe’s first hypersonic interceptor

PARIS — European missile maker MBDA is leading a consortium of companies to conceptualize a prototype hypersonic interceptor for Europe over the next three years.

The missile systems and technology company has signed letters of intent with four European nations – France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands – to launch a concept stage for the Hypersonic Defense Interceptor Study, or HYDIS2, which would introduce several designs before choosing one, officials said June 19 during the Paris Air Show here.

The consortium includes 19 companies and 30 suppliers from 14 European countries, Bruno Verzotti, MBDA’s director of future systems, told a small group of reporters. Besides the four nations that have signed letters of intent to support HYDIS2, industry partners hail from Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Spain and Belgium.

“HYDIS2 aims to define Europe’s interceptor,” Verzotti said during the briefing. After the three-year concept study is over, the plan is for the four nations underwriting HYDIS2 to choose one counter-hypersonic interceptor concept to push forward.

The company has been at work on counter-hypersonic technology for roughly the past four years, he said. Internally to MBDA, the capability under development has been dubbed “Aquila,” the Latin word for “eagle.”

The intent is for Aquila’s development to be linked to the EU-funded Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based TheatER Surveillance (TWISTER) program, supported by the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) scheme.

Nearly one year ago, the EU announced its initial roster of 61 programs to be supported by the European Defence Fund (EDF). One of those, the EU HYDEF effort, would cover the concept phase to build a similar endo-atmospheric interceptor, led by a consortium including Spain’s Sener Aerospacial Sociedad Anonima and Germany’s Diehl Defence .

The EU HYDEF program is expected to cost about €110 million ($100.74 million) and cover a 36-month period, the EU previously shared. It is also linked to the PESCO TWISTER program.

MBDA also submitted a bid to receive EDF funds to build an interceptor in 2022 under the moniker HYDIS. While their proposal was not selected then, officials are optimistic that a second effort – with the very same industry team – might prove more effective.

Meanwhile, Israeli arms maker Rafael announced June 14 that it had developed its own hypersonic interceptor dubbed “Sky Sonic.” The weapon was unveiled for the first time at this year’s Paris Air Show and is on display at the company’s stand.

Vivienne Machi is a reporter based in Stuttgart, Germany, contributing to Defense News' European coverage. She previously reported for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defence Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2020.

巴黎——欧洲导弹制造商MBDA正牵头一个企业联盟，在未来三年内为欧洲构思一种高超音速拦截器原型。

导弹系统和技术公司已与法国、德国、意大利和荷兰四个欧洲国家签署意向书，启动高超音速防御拦截器研究（HYDIS2）的概念阶段。该公司官员于6月19日在巴黎航展上表示，该阶段将推出几种设计方案，然后再从中选择一个。

MBDA未来系统总监布鲁诺·韦尔佐蒂向一小群记者透露，该联盟由来自14个欧洲国家的19家公司和30家供应商组成。除了已签署意向书支持HYDIS2项目的四个国家外，其他行业合作伙伴还来自芬兰、爱沙尼亚、瑞典、丹麦、罗马尼亚、匈牙利、克罗地亚、奥地利、西班牙和比利时。

“HYDIS2旨在定义欧洲的拦截器，”韦尔佐蒂在简报会上表示。这项为期三年的概念研究结束后，计划由HYDIS2的四个出资国选择一种反高超音速拦截器概念进行推进。

他表示，公司过去四年左右一直在研发反高超音速技术。在MBDA内部，这项正在研发的技术被命名为“Aquila”，在拉丁语中意为“鹰”。

Aquila 的发展目标是与欧盟资助的“基于天基战区监视的及时预警和拦截”（TWISTER）计划挂钩，该计划由欧盟的永久结构性合作（PESCO）方案支持。

大约一年前，欧盟公布了首批由欧洲防务基金 (EDF) 支持的 61 个项目。其中之一，欧盟 HYDEF 项目，将涵盖建造类似大气层内拦截器的概念阶段，该项目由包括西班牙 Sener Aerospacial Sociedad Anonima 和德国 Diehl Defence 在内的财团牵头。

欧盟此前透露，欧盟HYDEF计划预计耗资约1.1亿欧元（1.0074亿美元），为期36个月。该计划也与PESCO TWISTER计划相关。

MBDA公司也曾以HYDIS为名，于2022年向法国电力公司（EDF）提交了一份申请，希望获得资金建造拦截器。虽然当时他们的方案并未被选中，但官员们乐观地认为，由同一家公司团队再次提交的方案可能会更加有效。

与此同时，以色列武器制造商拉斐尔公司于6月14日宣布，该公司已研制出名为“天空音速”（Sky Sonic）的高超音速拦截器。该武器在今年的巴黎航展上首次亮相，并在该公司的展台上展出。

薇薇安·马奇是驻德国斯图加特的一名记者，主要负责《防务新闻》的欧洲报道。她此前曾为《国家防务杂志》、《防务日报》、《卫星通讯》、《外交政策》和《代顿每日新闻》撰稿。2020年，她荣获防务媒体奖最佳青年防务记者称号。