LONDON – British F-35B fighter jets will be equipped with a new mini cruise missile following the signing of a £ 550 million ($ 750 million) production contract between the Ministry of Defense and contractor MBDA, the company announced. on January 6.
The deal is expected to allow the Spear 3 missile to reach the aircraft’s initial operating capacity in 2025, making it the primary air-to-ground weapon for Lockheed Martin-built jets that now enter service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. .
For now, the weapon, which has a range of more than 140 kilometers, is intended to be installed exclusively on the F-35B models. But that could change, with Defense Ministry officials admitting that there is a possibility that Spear 3 will also be installed in the Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon fighter fleet.
“There is growing recognition around the benefits of expanding access to the platform and developing a range of Spear variants to maximize resemblance within Spear, both for additional military capability and to meet the potential demand of export customers,” said one defense officer.
“There is an aspirational requirement to integrate the operational capability of Spear 3 into the Eurofighter Typhoon, and in both Italy and Germany [partners with Britain on the Typhoon program] are showing interest, ”added the official.
A joint team from MBDA, BAE Systems and MoD has already carried out ground tests and fit checks on a Typhoon launcher carrying three missiles.
The MBDA arm in the United Kingdom already tested the Spear 3 firing of a Typhoon as early as 2016. According to the company, guided firing of the Typhoon gun in support of the development of the Spear 3 for the F-35B will begin within 18 months.
Among the variants of Spear considered interesting, the MoD is a weapon of electronic warfare.
MBDA received a technology demonstration contract in 2019 to investigate such an application. The deal was extended, and work is underway in partnership with partner company Leonardo.
The new demonstration and production contract announced today follows the successful implementation of the £ 150 million arms development contract made in 2016 and a £ 411 million agreement in 2019 for the integration of Spear 3 into the F-35.
Doug Barrie, a senior aviation analyst at the international institute of strategic studies in London, said the weapon’s availability would represent a significant step towards the British F-35B’s attacking power.
“Boom 3 is a key element of the air-to-surface capability of the UK F-35B, designed to provide a medium-range weapon with a reliable internal charge against a wide range of targets,” he said.
MBDA chief Eric Beranger said: “Isolated, network-enabled and swarm weapons are an important part of MBDA’s vision – Spear is leading the way with these technologies and is the most technically advanced weapon of its kind.”
The seven-year demonstration and production contract will see missile and launch manufacturing scheduled to begin in 2023.
The acronym Spear stands for “effects of selective accuracy in range”. Boom variants 1 and 2 are the Raytheon Paveway IV precision-guided bomb and MBDA Brimstone missile, respectively.
The F-35B can carry up to eight Spear 3 missiles in its internal weapons compartment and other missiles in the wing.
Like Brimstone, it uses millimeter-wave and semi-active laser finders.