MBDA showed strong resilience in 2020 despite the global pandemic

Revenues were at €3.6 billion in 2020, with a 50:50 split across domestic and export customers.

Order intake during 2020 was €3.3 billion, with MBDA’s order backlog now standing at €16.6 billion.

Éric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, said: “The 2020 results represent a remarkable achievement by all MBDA colleagues who have shown commitment, team spirit and innovation in ensuring the company continued to deliver for its customers. I also want to thank our customers who have continued to trust us during this difficult year. These results pave the way for future growth. MBDA is at the heart of the sovereignty of our home nations and their allies, and we will continue to offer them the most advanced solutions that protect national security and enable strategic independence”.

New Business

Major new business won during 2020 included; a production order for the SPEAR missile for the Royal Air Force and an upgrade for the Brimstone 3 missile; Aster mid-life refurbishment for France and the commissioning of the development of the new MHT combat missile for the Tiger helicopter; Italy winning a contract for the new Teseo MK2/E anti-ship missile; and the contract (with Rheinmetall as co-contractor) for a new high-energy laser demonstrator for German Navy. Major export orders included a naval weapons package for a foreign undisclosed customer and a naval weapons package for Senegal.

Armed forces are facing a rapidly evolving threat environment. The risk of high-intensity conflicts increases while asymmetric engagements remain. Emerging threats are faster, better protected, smarter, and more collaborative in all domains. Countering those threats is becoming more complex and will require the implementation of a wide range of interconnected effectors acting in concert with tactical agility to create the force multiplier needed to achieve the military objectives sought.

To answer the future needs of its customers’ armed forces, MBDA is extensively investing in new types of innovative effects (Directed Energy Weapons, Counter-measures, etc.), technologies (Artificial Intelligence, target identification, hypersonic, etc.), and associated techniques (combination of effects, collaboration, swarming, packs, fast targeting, complex mission planning, navigation in a contested environment, etc.), to develop a new generation of offensive and deceptive weapons and effectors.

What for 2021 ?

2021 will be a decisive year for several key future defence capabilities in Europe. The SAMP/T NG contract awarded by OCCAR on 19 March will give France and Italy an enhanced capability to guarantee their airspace sovereignty, and protect their population, territory and troops-on-operations against new emerging threats. France and the United Kingdom shall take further steps in their cooperation under the Lancaster House Treaty framework by launching the assessment phase for the FC/ASW programme, and will continue to strengthen their technological base for generation-after-next missile systems by renewing their commitment to the Complex Weapon Innovation & Technological Partnership (CW-ITP). MBDA will continue to invest in cooperation for the endo-atmospheric interceptor that could be the backbone of the wider TWISTER (Timely Warning Interceptor with Space-based TheatER surveillance) programme launched under the EU PESCO framework, to provide a European contribution to NATO Ballistic-Missile Defence (BMD). As member of two partnerships producing next generation Future Combat Air Systems (Tempest / SCAF), MBDA will continue to mature capable, affordable, upgradeable, connected and cooperative effectors for future air dominance.

2020 was another year of strong recruitment that saw MBDA hiring 1,100 new employees across Europe in 2020, with plans to hire another 1,200 people this year.

With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development.

MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5 %), BAE Systems (37.5 %), and Leonardo (25 %).

https://www.mbda-systems.com

Photos credits: MBDA, Charles Seignolle