MBDA Profits from Anglo-French Defense Pact
MBDA will get Anglo-French funding to develop the next generation of missiles in Europe. This is the company’s Perseus concept for a future air-to-surface weapon. (Photo: MBDA)
MBDA will get Anglo-French funding to develop the next generation of missiles in Europe. This is the company’s Perseus concept for a future air-to-surface weapon. (Photo: MBDA)

A new inter-governmental treaty to be signed in 2013 or 2014 will enhance Anglo-French cooperation on missile development, said Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA. The company has responded to the moves by London and Paris to share defense costs and capabilities with a proposal to create “centers of excellence” that will rationalize the development of new weapons. Bouvier explained that although MBDA is a multinational company, only specific programs such as the Meteor air-to-air missile and the Scalp/Storm Shadow cruise missile are currently developed cooperatively across national boundaries. He noted that the French government last July endorsed the British “Team Complex Weapons” approach, which promotes sovereign capability by defining capability targets and allocating resources between contractors.