3 minute read - 23rd June 2024
MBDA and MOD renew £6.5bn complex weapons partnership
MBDA and the UK Ministry of Defence have renewed their strategic partnership on complex weapons for a further decade, with a renewed portfolio management agreement (PMA). Known as PMA2 and worth at least £6.5bn, the agreement will deliver battle winning complex weapons to the UK Armed Forces faster, at lower cost and with greater agility. PMA2 will also support British jobs, skills and industrial investment.
The 10-year agreement with MBDA represents the renewal of a long-term strategic relationship through which weapon systems design, development, production and support will be conducted. It presents a significant opportunity to counter current and future threats, providing military capability choice to the UK and Europe. It will support more than 5,500 people who work at MBDA UK sites in Bolton, Lancashire; Stevenage, Herfordshire; and Bristol, as well as thousands of further jobs in its UK’s supply chain.
The agreement, secured by the Complex Weapons Team at Defence Equipment & Support – the MOD’s procurement arm – is a continuation and enhancement of a strategic partnership with MBDA that started in 2010. It has enabled the UK to respond to conflicts on its own terms whilst also creating savings of around £2.6bn.
MBDA and the UK Ministry of Defence have renewed their strategic partnership on complex weapons worth £6.5bn. It will support more than 5,500 people who work at MBDA UK sites / Picture: MBDA
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MBDA already produces complex weapons for the British Army, Royal Navy and RAF. In recent years, it has delivered projects including Storm Shadow, Brimstone, Meteor, ASRAAM, ASTER (Sea Viper), CAMM (Land/Sea Ceptor) and Sea Venom.
Future programmes MBDA is developing include SPEAR Cap 3, which will be a future weapon for F-35B Lightning II fighter jets and the UK-French collaboration to develop Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapons (FC/ASW) for the Royal Navy and RAF.
Chris Allam, managing director of MBDA UK, said: “Renewing the MOD-MBDA partnership for a further decade underscores our role as a critical national asset supporting UK Defence. PMA2 will build upon the many successes of the past decade while delivering enhanced value, speed and agility for the UK Armed Forces and enabling better collaboration with our allies across Europe.”
John Cunningham, head of complex weapons at the Ministry of Defence, added: “This represents significant investment from MOD and supports our vision to deliver strategic influence for the UK, munition resilience, and battle-winning capability at pace, fit for the future. We are excited to enter a new phase of our complex weapons partnership with MBDA. Events in the last two years have reinforced the need for the UK to maintain strategic choice and resilience, and this deal underpins its ability to maintain both national resilience and its role internationally, being responsive to changing threats and being a leader in complex weapon technologies.”
The value of the PMA model has enabled MBDA to invest more than £550m in the UK, including a new manufacturing site in Bolton. PMA2 will see a further £500m of MBDA investment in British manufacturing and technologies.
