The United Kingdom awarded MBDA a $566 million contract to extend the service life of the Brimstone air-to-surface missile through the capability sustainment program (CSP), the company said Tuesday.
Through the CSP effort, MBDA will build new Brimstone air-to-surface missiles for U.K. Armed Forces to replenish the military’s inventory. The company noted this effort is expected to extend the Brimstone’s life past 2030.
The Brimstone is a 1.8 meter-long air-to-surface precision attack weapon previously demonstrated from land, sea, jets, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is used to engage fast moving and maneuvering targets.
The new Brimstone missiles are planned to include all improved functionalities previously offered to the missile in spiral upgrades over recent years. This includes the Dual Mode SAL/millimeter wave (mmW) seeker, enhanced autopilot, and new insensitive munition compliant rocket motor and warheads.
“I am delighted that the U.K. has chosen to proceed with the Brimstone capability sustainment program. This new investment by the U.K. is an endorsement of the unique and world-beating capabilities offered by Brimstone,” Engineering Director and Managing Director of MBDA UK, Chris Allam, said in a statement.
“The CSP contract forms the basis for the through-life sustainment and upgrade of Brimstone to 2030 and beyond,” he added.
The new Brimstone is planned to be carried by the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Typhoon fighter aircraft. The company said it expects the missile to later be used by the the RAF’s new Protector UAV and British Army’s new Apache attack helicopters.
MBDA noted the CSP will include “a significant memory and processing update to the missile in order to enable all of Brimstone’s functionalities and to future-proof the missile.”
The sustainment program will also deliver a baseline hardware standard that will later evolve via software enhancements, leading to a common stockpile of identical missiles used on British attack helicopters, jets, and UAVs and allow manufacture of Brimstone for export orders, the company said. The various CSP modes are set to be cockpit selectable, giving users easy access to the missiles’ capabilities.
MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5 percent), Britain’s BAE Systems (37.5 percent), and Italy’s Leonardo (25 percent).