Europe to Develop Its Own Exoatmospheric Ballistic Missile Interceptor

European defense companies have agreed to form a consortium to develop an interceptor capable of shooting down medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere.

This was reported on Thales’s website.

On July 14 in Paris, Thales, Airbus, MBDA Deutschland, Safran, and the aerospace startup Destinus signed a letter of intent to establish the Bliksem EXO consortium.

The goal of the collaboration is to develop an independent European solution for missile defense, including against medium-range Oreshnik-class ballistic missiles with separable, maneuverable warheads.

The companies plan to sign a binding agreement to establish the consortium within the next three months.

Joint engineering work is set to begin in August. Testing of the warhead for the future exoatmospheric interceptor missile is scheduled for 2027. However, the agreement does not yet obligate the parties to fund or procure the future system.

The startup Destinus will serve as the lead and prime contractor of the consortium and will be responsible for system integration and the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV).

Meanwhile, MBDA Deutschland will be responsible for the interceptor missile, launch system, and container, while Safran Electronics & Defense will handle the EKV’s homing head, guidance, navigation, and control systems.

Airbus Defence and Space will be responsible for command and control, while Thales will handle radars and sensors, from early warning to control.

The program will draw on Ukraine’s operational experience in countering massive Russian missile attacks during the system’s design, testing, and evaluation.

The announcement of the European consortium’s formation came the day after the launch in Paris of the Anti-Ballistic Coalition.

Its participants agreed to work together on a more affordable alternative to the US Patriot systems, as Ukraine faces increasingly intense Russian ballistic missile strikes.