European Missiles for Today’s (and Tomorrow’s) Battlefield

Few things have become as topical since the fighting in Ukraine kicked into high gear in 2022 as long-range strike and air defences, preferably of the kind that US-based billionaire can’t switch off at a whim. And few companies are better placed to meet those demands than MBDA. As such, the EURONAVAL press trip kicked off with a presentation by the company at their facilities in Le Plessis-Robinson outside of Paris focusing on their missile programmes. The portfolio of MBDA – the “only western non-US company to offer the full range of advanced weaponry” according to themselves – include quite the spectrum of missiles. If we first look at the long-range strike portfolio, it is perhaps more varied than generally recognised. Starting at the lower end, the Deluge might still be a step above some of the crude OWA-drones seen in Ukraine, but it is certainly much closer in philosophy to them compared to the SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missile which might be the most recogniseable of the…