European company MBDA plans to double missile production in 2025
European arms manufacturer MBDA intends to double its missile production in 2025 and hire 2,600 new employees to expand its production capacity.
What is known
This was announced by the company's CEO Eric Beranger at the annual press conference in Paris. In 2024, MBDA received orders worth €13.8 billion, bringing the total number of contracts to €37 billion.
The MBDA CEO also announced the expansion of production capacity this year: "Compared to 2024, the production of new missiles will double."
As for doubling production: the company plans to actively purchase equipment and expand its staff. By the end of 2025, the number of employees at MBDA will increase to 19,000.
At the same time, Beranger acknowledged that the growth rate will depend on the ability to train new staff, as the specialists who have to do this are also involved in production. In total, the company plans to invest €2.4 billion over the next five years.
He also stressed that Europe has everything it needs to develop guided missiles. In his opinion, Europe should have a so-called Design Authority. This would allow for the deployment, development and adaptation of weapons systems without the need to request permission or information from third parties. As an example, he cited the Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles, which were adapted to Ukrainian Su-24s in a short period of time.
Storm Shadow/SCALP. Illustration: David Monniaux
To explain, MBDA produces a wide range of missiles, such as cruise and strike missiles - Storm Shadow/SCALP, Brimstone, Taurus KEPD 350 and anti-aircraft CAMM, ASTER 15, ASTER 30, VL MICA. We are also talking about air-to-air missiles, such as Meteor, ASRAAM, MICA, or anti-ship missiles: Exocet, MARTE ER, Naval Strike Missile.
In addition, the company is developing a new generation of missiles: Taurus, FC/ASW (successor to Storm Shadow/SCALP) and the Aquila hypersonic interceptor.
Source: Bloomberg
