Dstl awards a new contract for Anglo-French technology partnership
Dstl, the science inside UK defence, has awarded a new contract to MBDA to lead on the new Complex Weapons Innovation and Technology Partnership (CW ITP).
Illustration of the Resilient and Autonomous Satcom Navigation (REASON) system, copyright Mourad Cherfi
CW ITP is a major Anglo-French collaborative programme for missile research and development. MBDA will act as the prime and will coordinate research with major suppliers in the UK and France on behalf of Dstl and the French Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA).
The CW ITP is worth £40m over 4 years, with Dstl, DGA and UK and French industries all contributing towards this total amount.
The governments of both the UK and France have shown a commitment to harness the opportunities innovation can present for the benefit of their Defence capabilities. This new 4-year contract follows on from the work of the Materials and Components for Missiles Innovation Technology Partnership (MCM ITP) over the last 13 years. The CW ITP will collaboratively identify and develop revolutionary and innovative technology to enhance complex weapons capability in both nations for the 2030s and beyond.
Dstl’s Platform Systems Division Head, Matt Chinn said:
The new framework is fantastic and will see a sharp focus on 5 Enduring Technical Areas (ETAs) identified as unique and critical to the field of complex weapons. The capability improvements and potential disruptors will help deliver battle-winning and generation-after-next missile technologies, sustaining UK and France’s industrial and scientific base.
A renewed group of UK and French companies, split equally across both nations, will lead the ETAs:
- MBDA for material, structure, electronics and mission systems and algorithms
- Thales and Leonardo UK for seekers
- Safran and Roxel UK for propulsion
- Thales UK and CEA (the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) for lethality
Éric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, said:
I am delighted that a new of era of the Innovation Technology Partnership is beginning with this contract. MCM ITP was an excellent example of Anglo-French co-operation, and the CW ITP will no doubt continue in this endeavour, showcasing that our countries remain committed to working together on future defence technologies.
CW ITP will also look to fund more ‘disruptive ideas’ through short, 3 to 6 month technology projects that, whilst at the smaller end of funding, carry a high risk of not being successful but high reward if they are.
Ed Dodwell, the Head of CW ITP, said:
The importance of CW ITP’s cross defence collaboration is its facility to match up the evolution of ideas with their exploitation. Technology on its own, without a concept for use becomes redundant. Concepts that never materialise beyond that are opportunities missed. CW ITP addresses this by having the best experts working together, linking up the technology push of innovation with the market pull of complex weapons.