MBDA getting in battle order to serve sovereignty

MBDA held its annual press conference in Paris today, 13 March. The company’s CEO shared the Group results for 2023 together with some insight into tackling future challenges in the face of growing demand in a complex international context.

Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, said, “MBDA was created out of a need for greater European cooperation, a fundamental component of its DNA. The company grew to become a worldwide leader in its field. The challenge now is to keep on adapting to an evolving environment, while continuing to foster cooperation, notably at the European level. To be battle-ready when asked to answer the new demands of our customers, their armed forces and their allies. To help ensure their sovereignty in a global environment where force is challenging international rights more and more.”

In 2023, major domestic contracts signed included the order of Aster missiles for France and Italy, Akeron MP and Mistral 3 for France, Enforcer – which entered serial production at the end of 2023 – for Germany, CAMM-ER for Italy, the evolution of Sea Viper for the UK and Mistral 3 for Spain. At export, MBDA booked significant orders in Europe, notably with major contracts for CAMM in Poland and Sweden, and the mid-life refurbishment of SCALP missiles for Greece.

The events unfolding last year on the international scene proved again the need for fully comprehensive defence solutions and a multi-layered Air Defence, for which cooperation successes like Aster or CAMM missiles are revealing instrumental. Current theatres of conflict in the world are also revealing new warfare trends like the use of drones. A trend MBDA identified early on and created Sky Warden, its flagship solution addressing the full range of unmanned aerial systems threats.

With the threats evolving rapidly, innovation and preparation for the future remain priorities at MBDA. To be ready to face new threats and be present in new domains of conflict. The future of deep strike is progressing, with Italy joining France and the UK in the development of FC/ASW. MBDA is leading Hydis², a consortium involving 14 European countries developing Aquila, to face the emergence of hypersonic effectors. Not forgetting AI solutions applied to Collaborative combat, which Orchestrike, MBDA’s Collaborative Combat Effectors demonstration, has shown. The company also took major steps with directed energy weapons. DragonFire in the UK, the Laser Weapon Demonstrator (LWD) in Germany and Cilas in France. Finally, Space, a new domain where there is a need to safeguard strategic assets and have the ability to complete missions from Earth. Hence, MBDA’s recent participation in the AsterX exercise.

To remain a trusted partner of its customers, MBDA continues to anticipate and adapt swiftly. That is why the company is ramping-up its production, with significant increases in the production rates of Akeron MP, Aster, Brimstone, CAMM, Enforcer, Exocet, MICA and Mistral while also investing in the future. MBDA also uses all leverage at its disposal at a European level, having always supported the European Commission and the European agenda for Defence, and now welcoming the European Defence Industrial Strategy and its future implementation.

From 2023 to 2028, MBDA is investing an unprecedented 2.4 billion euros at Group level, and planning to hire more than 2,600 new people in 2024.

Figures at a glance:

- Total revenues in 2023 were €4.5 billion
- Order intake at a new record total of €9.9 billion
- Backlog reaching €28billion

MBDA is a unique multi-national European group, a world-leader in the field of complex weapon systems, playing a key role in keeping nations safe. Created in the spirit of international cooperation, MBDA and its 14,000+ employees work together to support the national sovereignty of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, and their allies worldwide. As an accelerator for innovation, MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and manufacturing complex weapons to meet the full range of current and future operational requirements of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%) and Leonardo (25%) jointly own MBDA.

Source: MBDA