MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (159/2008) issued by The Government News Network on 15
July 2008
A new approach to
purchasing the Armed Forces' missiles took a step forward
today with the launch of an Assessment Phase with Team Complex
Weapons - an innovative partnering of industry and MoD - announced
by Baroness Taylor at the Farnborough Air Show.
Alongside a Teaming Agreement with all of the Team Complex
Weapons members, two contracts have been placed with MBDA (UK) Ltd
and Thales UK to develop six Complex Weapons projects within the
Assessment Phase, at a value of around £74M for the first year:
* Indirect Fire Precision Attack Loitering Munition (MBDA-led
with Team Loitering Munition).
* 100Kg weapon family to meet first the Future Air to Surface
Guided Weapon (heavyweight) requirement for Royal Navy helicopters (MBDA).
* Light weapon family to meet first the Future Air to Surface
Guided Weapon (lightweight) requirement (Thales UK).
* 50Kg weapon family to meet the Selected Precision Effects At
Range (SPEAR) requirement for fast jets and helicopters (MBDA).
* The Common Anti-Air Modular Missile family to meet first the
requirement for a Future Local Area Air Defence System (FLAADS)
for the T23 Frigate and the Future Surface Combatant (MBDA).
* An upgrade programme for Storm Shadow currently used on the
Tornado GR4 (MBDA).
The Assessment Phase will allow the Team CW companies to assess
the innovative concepts that they have been developing, and test
how they work together, and with the MoD, to develop and produce
the UK's military requirements for the next generation of
missiles and guided weapons for our Armed Forces.
This approach with Team CW, which also involves QinetiQ Ltd and
Roxel (UK Rocket Motors) Ltd, marks a shift from individual
bespoke contracts to one based on innovation, flexibility and
evolution. It aims to result in fewer weapon types that are more
adaptable and better able to meet the Armed Forces'
requirements in an increasingly changing world.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Baroness Taylor said:
"The launch of the Assessment Phase is a significant
milestone in our work with Team Complex Weapons. We are embarking
on an innovative approach to purchasing our next generation of
missiles and guided weapons. Team CW will help to maintain the
UK's key skills and technologies in missile development and
protect our operational sovereignty in this sector for the future."
Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain, Director General Weapons for the MoD,
said that:
"The concept offers the potential to bring new technologies
to the front line more quickly than in the past and for these to
be adapted to meet new threats through technology insertion and
flexible production. Through the Teaming Agreement and the
enabling contracts for the six projects, Team CW has been offered
the opportunity to demonstrate its capability to work in a
different manner and develop a range of products which can meet
the MoD's current Complex Weapons requirements and,
importantly, can be adapted readily for those in the future."
Steve Wadey, Team CW Industrial Chairman and Managing Director of
MBDA UK, which leads the Team CW grouping, added:
"The prospect of being able to better understand the
MoD's capability requirements through this partnering aids
both industry and government immeasurably, particularly in terms
of effective and efficient future investment and planning
decisions. This Assessment Phase will initiate a radical
transformation of the sector through the launch of these six new
projects which are central to the future military capability of
the UK and the long term future of the industry. Both the
Assessment Phase and the Teaming Agreement between the MoD and
industry will also show that the Team CW concept of more agile and
effective delivery of Complex Weapons can work effectively and
beneficially for both parties."
Notes to editors:
1. Team CW is a grouping led by MBDA (UK) Ltd, and includes
Thales UK, Roxel (UK Rocket Motors) Ltd and QinetiQ Ltd. The MoD
is also a member of Team CW.
2. Complex Weapons are tactical weapons reliant upon guidance
systems to achieve precision effects. Tactical Complex Weapons
fall largely into five categories: Air-to-Air; Air Defence; Air to
Surface; Anti-Ship/Submarine (including Torpedoes); and Surface to Surface.
3. This announcement follows the statement in Jul 06 where MoD
signalled a new approach to fulfilling the UK's military
requirement for Complex Weapons in response to the Defence
Industrial Strategy (DIS), published in Dec 05, which outlined the
need to retain UK operational sovereignty. The Assessment Phase
includes the two contracts with MBDA (UK) Ltd and Thales UK, and a
linked and legally-binding Teaming Agreement, which has been
signed by all of the Team CW members, and which will be used to
refine and test the Team CW model.
4. MoD secured a Public Policy Exclusion Order (PPEO) from the UK
Competition Act (in Aug 07), which enabled Team CW to share
commercially sensitive information, and the MoD and Team CW signed
a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in Sep 07 gave Team CW formal
status and allowed detailed discussions to commence.