CROSSBOW

Affordable firepower for the Deep Strike Battefield

Unveiled at DSEI 2025, CROSSBOW has been developed to address a new challenge : rapidly providing  our armed forces with strike capabilities tailored to address the evolving and diverse threat environment.

As a one-way effector, CROSSBOW is characterised by rapid development cycles, reuse, modularity and operational effectiveness.  To meet the urgent need for a fast-to-develop, cost-effective strike system, the solution leverages both military and commercial off-the-shelf subsystems, enabling easy reconfiguration for customers seeking to rely on domestic supply chains. This design philosophy supports spiral development, allowing capabilities to evolve progressively in line with operational threat.

CROSSBOW is designed to deliver an affordable deep-strike capability, generating mass across the target space. By combining MBDA’s advanced Complex Weapons knowledge with wider Industry mass production experience, CROSSBOW delivers rapid Development and Production to face the threat at scale.

Designed as a credible solution balancing capability, complexity, cost and scalability

CROSSBOW delivers multi-role kinetic and non-kinetic payloads of up to 300 kg to ranges over 800 km, enabling the destruction of static and high-value targets, including critical logistics assets. Its architectural openness enables high versatility in payload integration. The system is compatible with any 20-ft ISO-compliant vehicle, allowing single or double OWE HEAVY installations using standard ISO locks.

CROSSBOW’s navigation and guidance are designed for robustness and precision to operate in every environment, even in a context of high intensity. It combines GNSS, inertial navigation and advanced AI image-based navigation, enabling waypoint navigation to target and accurate terminal engagement, even in the harshest jamming environments.

Turbojet propulsion provides long-range performance, increasing both operational flexibility and survivability. Flexible mission planning interfaces enable seamless connection to in-country BMC4I (Battle Management Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence) systems and ground equipment, supporting spiral capability growth from a minimum viable product to full operational capability. Multiple warheads and fuzing options, along with modular survivability solutions, allow the system to be tailored to the threat environment and rapidly reconfigured by replacing payloads or navigation systems.

A New Capability Showcasing MBDA’s Agility Against Evolving Threats

Recent conflicts have revealed the growing need for affordable deep-strike capabilities able to operate in complex electromagnetic environments while generating significant combat mass. CROSSBOW directly addresses this requirement and illustrates MBDA’s agility in adapting to an evolving threat landscape.

MBDA has adopted a  rapid development approach, forming an ecosystem of European defence suppliers and SMEs supported by its expertise in complex weapons. A modular design leveraging military and commercial off-the-shelf software and subsystems enables high-volume production, robust sovereign and partnered supply chains, and rapid adaptation to customer needs. As a result, production at scale is achievable by the end of 2026.

By combining affordability, modularity and spiral development options across survivability, range, lethality, navigation and platform integration, CROSSBOW delivers a reliable and agile solution to the armed forces. It provides an effective and adaptable capability to strike deep across the battlefield, aligned with the evolution of the threat.