MBDA to lead the mid-life refurbishment of Storm Shadow / Scalp

24/02/2017
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Photograph shows Wing Commander Dave Robertson, right and Squadron Leader Andy Myers prior to their departure on a Tornado GR4 night mission over Iraq armed with the RAF's new stand off precision guided missile 'Storm Shadow'. Photograph by Corporal Craig Fryer RAF Combat Camera Crown Copyright
Wing Commander Dave Robertson, right and Squadron Leader Andy Myers prior to their departure on a Tornado GR4 night mission over Iraq armed with the RAF’s new stand off precision guided missile ‘Storm Shadow’.

The UK and French Ministries of Defence have jointly announced they have contracted MBDA for the mid-life refurbishment of Storm Shadow / SCALP EG cruise missiles. This will prolong the operational superiority of the weapon against the anticipated evolving threat well into next decade.This constitutes another major step in the Franco-British route map, continuing the cooperation in the deep strike domain which was initiated with the launch of the Storm Shadow / SCALP programme in 1996. The Storm Shadow / SCALP mid-life refurbishment programme will include a development phase and will be validated by a series of flight trials during 2019. The first refurbished missiles are expected to be returned to the French and UK armed by early 2020.

Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, said : “The Storm Shadow / SCALP  programme is of special significance to MBDA because it launched the creation of Matra BAe Dynamics and its industrial organization subsequently served as a model for the whole MBDA group. This model today remains unique in the defence industry. But it has given our customers in Europe as well as in our export markets, access at an affordable cost to operational capabilities with no equivalent in the world, such as SCALP / Storm Shadow but also Meteor and Aster missiles.”

Dave Armstrong, MBDA’s Executive Group Director Sales and Business Development and UK Managing Director, added: “This combined investment by the two countries ensures that Storm Shadow / SCALP will be maintained at its optimum level long into the future. It is also proof of the confidence given by France and UK in MBDA’s ability to carry out European Defence programmes.”

Photograph shows Wing Commander Dave Robertson, right and Squadron Leader Andy Myers prior to their departure on a Tornado GR4 night mission over Iraq armed with the RAF's new stand off precision guided missile 'Storm Shadow'. Photograph by Corporal Craig Fryer RAF Combat Camera Crown CopyrightLes ministères de la défense français et britannique ont conjointement annoncé avoir confié à MBDA  la rénovation à mi-vie des missiles de croisière SCALP/Storm Shadow. L’objectif de cette opération est de prolonger dans la prochaine décennie la supériorité opérationnelle de l’arme, au regard de l’évolution anticipée des menaces.

C’est une nouvelle étape majeure sur la feuille de route de la coopération franco-britannique dans le domaine de la frappe dans la profondeur, initiée en 1996 lors du lancement du programme SCALP/ Storm Shadow. Le programme de rénovation à mi-vie du Scalp/Storm Shadow prévoit une phase de développement et sera validé par des essais en vol en 2019. Les premiers missiles rénovés seront livré en 2020.

Antoine Bouvier,, CEO de MBDA, a déclaré: « le programme SCALP/Storm Shadow revêt une importance toute particulière pour MBDA, puisqu’il a lancé la création de Matra BAe Dynamics et son organisation industrielle a également servi de modèle pour l’ensemble du groupe MBDA. Ce modèle reste unique encore aujourd’hui dans l’industrie de défense. Mais il a permis à nos clients en Europe et sur nos marchés à l’exportation d’accéder pour un coût abordable à des capacités opérationnelles d’exception, telles que les missiles SCALP/Storm Shadow, mais aussi Meteor et Aster. »

Dave Armstrong, Executive Group Director Sales and Business Development et Managing Director UK de MBDA, a déclaré : « Ce nouvel investissement conjoint des deux pays garantit que le missile SCALP/Storm Shadow sera maintenu au meilleur niveau pour longtemps encore. C’est également pour MBDA le témoignage de la confiance que la France et le Royaume-Uni placent dans la capacité de MBDA à conduire des programmes de défense européens. »

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