MBDA, Europe’s largest manufacturer of air defense and guided missile systems, has communicated its readiness to Germany regarding the development of long-range missiles. These deep-precision-strike capabilities are designed to enable the destruction of military targets deep within an adversary’s rear areas.
“It is necessary to strengthen European capacities in the short term,” stated Paul Houot, MBDA’s Product Line Manager for Deep Strike, in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. Currently, MBDA’s Missile de Croisiere Naval (MdCN) is Europe’s only product available for deep-precision-strike operations, offering performance comparable to the American Tomahawk. MBDA is currently collaborating with the French state to advance the development of the MdCN.
Houot explained that the proposal MBDA put forward to European states interested in an alternative to the US system is to join France in the continued development of the MdCN. This would result in a fully independent European solution that could be produced and exported without requiring US approval. Furthermore, collaboration is also possible in developing the planned land cruise missile variant. This ground-based rocket is expected to be ready for deployment in 2029 and is intended to reach targets “far more” than 1,000 kilometers away. Houot noted that this would currently be the only European rocket combined with such power and range.
The MBDA manager added that there is currently significant interest from European countries and NATO in the MdCN and its land variant, partly due to concerns about the availability of US stocks. Other players are also entering the negotiation discussions for a new deep-strike program, which could be initiated by the German-French ministerial council on Friday.
In related discussions, Vincent Pery, who leads defense programs at the Ariane Group, confirmed to the FAZ that the group is talking with France and Germany about the potential development of conventional ballistic missiles. These missiles could have a range between 1,000 and 2,500 kilometers. Pery added, “If there is a political decision, we could also manufacture conventional ballistic missiles in Germany.”
