British Military Technology

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

Germany reportedly considers helping fund UK nukes

According to an exclusive from The Telegraph, Germany is considering helping to fund Britain’s nuclear deterrent and providing conventional military support to protect key infrastructure such as Faslane, as Berlin explores deeper integration with the UK and France’s existing nuclear forces.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk ukdefencejournal.org.uk
 

The Last Frontier: European Manufacturers Move Ahead on Ballistic Missile Defense​

After FirePoint, Estonian missile house Frankenburg Technologies seeks to enter the ballistic missile defense market​

missilematters.substack.com

The Last Frontier: European Manufacturers Move Ahead on Ballistic Missile Defense

After FirePoint, Estonian missile house Frankenburg Technologies seeks to enter the ballistic missile defense market
missilematters.substack.com missilematters.substack.com
On 22 June, Bloomberg reported that Estonian and UK-based missile manufacturer Frankenburg Technologies, which recently opened its first production facility in Latvia, is finalizing 100 million euros in Series B funding to develop and manufacture an anti-ballistic missile defense system.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/2102817733272617123

breakingdefense.com

UK launches first space squadron to ‘degrade and deny’ enemies - Breaking Defense

“No one wants a war in space. We are positioned to deter this,” said Harv Symth, UK Chief of the Air Staff.
breakingdefense.com breakingdefense.com

UK launches first space squadron to ‘degrade and deny’ enemies​

UK launches first space squadron to ‘degrade and deny’ enemies - Breaking Defense
“No. 3 SES [Space Effects Squadron] will disrupt, degrade and deny hostile activity,” said Harv Smyth, as he announced the move at the UK Space Power Conference in London. Run by “specialist personnel,” the squadron will take on offensive and defensive space missions, he added.
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According to the UK MoD, the UK-US-Australia Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) program sits as the “cornerstone” of Britain’s capacity to detect and track items such as satellites, space debris and asteroids in Earth orbit.
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“The use of three sites for DARC (in the UK, US and Australia) will enable 360 degree coverage of the sky at all times of day and under any weather conditions,” states a MoD overview of the effort.
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More broadly, the DIP allocates £3.2 billion in support of space capabilities over the next four years. Funding is split between £2.3 billion for satellite communications and £880 million to cover space-based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR).
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DIP - Defence Investment Plan.
 
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Some information from a French journalist who visited MBDA today:

  • The UK retains some involvement in STRATUS-RS, just as France retains some involvement in STRATUS-LO. So MBDA France and MBDA UK are involved in both programmes.

  • Italy is only involved in STRATUS-LO: at one point, there had been talk of Italy (Leonardo) supplying part of the STRATUS-RS seeker, but that is now completely off the table, and it is therefore very likely that Thales France will be responsible for it.

  • Both missiles are reportedly capable of being launched from ship VLS and Ramps, as well as from aircraft
  • The VLS and Ramp versions would require an additional booster, and MBDA is trying to use the same booster for both missiles and both launch methods.

  • The Assessment phase for both missiles is now complete.
  • The STRATUS RS development contract is expected at Euronaval 2026
  • The STRATUS LO should follow by late 2026 or early 2027.
  • First deliveries are planned around 2030, with entry into service in the early 2030s.
  • MBDA’s goal is a common architecture allowing the two missiles to cover multiple platforms, flight profiles and target types while minimizing the number of hardware variants.


STRATUS-RS:
  • Same missile, same seeker and same warhead for all four missions.
  • Primary missions: anti-ship and SEAD.
  • Secondary missions: deep strike and anti-HVAA.
  • For the anti-HVAA role, there will still be some software work required for target designation, so it seems likely that this capability will not be implemented from the outset.
  • The STRATUS-RS seeker will be an active AESA seeker, with SAR functionality. It is this SAR capability (combined with advanced INS/GNSS navigation and a secondary IIR imaging sensor), that will allow it to perform SEAD/DEAD through target recognition, without having to rely on a passive sensor detecting radar emissions.
  • STRATUS-RS's propulsion will be a liquid-fueled ramjet
  • STRATUS-RS will have a range "well over 3 times that of Exocet". (which matches the 800km range claim on the chart i posted)
STRATUS-LO
  • Same missile, same warhead(tandem) and same seeker for both missions
  • Primary mission : deep-strike
  • Secondary missions : anti-ship
  • Passive sensors (IR+RF)
  • STRATUS-LO's propulsion will use a new turbofan (RR/Safran), allowing the missile's range to be increased considerably.
  • STRATUS-LO's range is said to be "more than doubled compared with Storm Shadow"
 
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