Britain and France will order more MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missiles and have reaffirmed their cooperation on its replacement, the FC/ASW programme.
Last week Defence Secretary John Healey joined his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu to visit the Stevenage facility of Storm Shadow manufacturer MBDA.
As per a recent U.K. Government press statement, under its newly agreed “Entente Industrielle” defence relationship with France both nations will buy more of the jointly-developed cruise missiles, known as SCALP-EG in France.
Work has been ongoing for some years on its prospective replacement, the FC/ASW (Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon). In France the initiative is labelled the FMAN/FMC (Futur Missile Anti-Navire/Futur Missile de Croisière).
Current prototypes of the FC/ASW include a subsonic cruise missile, dubbed the TP15, and a faster supersonic variant, the RJ10.
The new weapon is also expected to succeed the Harpoon and Exocet anti-ship missiles operated by the respective countries.
The FC/ASW is likely to be launched from a range of platforms including French FREMM and British Type 26 frigates, and British Eurofighter Typhoon and French Dassault Rafale fighter jets.
The U.K. statement noted: “The new agreement will see the U.K. and France commit to launch the next phase of their joint project for both deep strike and anti-ship missiles — a step closer to selecting a final design for Storm Shadow’s replacement.”
Britain and France have also announced a “UK-France nuclear partnership,” pledging to “coordinate” their respective nuclear deterrents while retaining their independence.
- You can read more details on the U.K. Government website and on the MBDA website