MBDA displayed its ground-to-ground strike portfolio in a layered presentation starting from the handheld Enforcer to the strategic Land Cruise Missile.
The notable part of MBDA’s DSEI UK 2025 booth is the large number of surface-to-surface missiles presented, alongside a wide view of the portfolio titled Land Fires, which includes ATGMs, kamikaze UAVs (Introduced as OWEs), artillery rockets, and cruise missiles.
One-Way Effectors
Seemingly having taken notes from the Russo-Ukrainian War, which has been a scene of mass use of kamikaze UAVs from different classes, MBDA has opened a new category it dubbed as One-Way Effectors (OWEs), consisting of small to large-sized kamikaze UAVs with simple layouts.
- The OWE Light for short-range use is the AKERON RCH170 loitering munition, carrying a two-kilogram warhead up to a range of 50 km.
- OWE Medium is a jet-powered flying wing kamikaze UAV that has a similar philosophy to the jet-powered kamikaze UAVs, addressing the speed issues of propeller-driven ones. The exterior shows a more streamlined design with somewhat better concealment of components.
- OWE Heavy or Crossbow, unveiled at DSEI UK 2025, is the long-range option carrying a 300 kg warhead up to a range of 800 km. Despite cruise missile-like figures, Crossbow has a very simple layout as a low-cost munition that can be produced quickly. The launch platform only holds one Crossbow OWE.
Land Cruise Missile (MdCT) and JFS-M Cruise Missiles
JFS-M and Land Cruise Missile (LCM/MdCT) will be the longest and heaviest shots of MBDA’s future land-based missile portfolio.
JFS-M is planned as a cruise missile with a range of 500 km that can be fired from EuroPULS or M270 MLRS in addition to the standard launcher. The guidance will consist of an optical seeker at the nose in addition to GPS/INS.
LCM/MdCT is a development of the French MdCN land attack cruise missile meant for ships and submarines. Externally common with MdCN, the new cruise missile will have a similar range of 1000 km and will be launched from a larger trailer-mounted launcher instead of a fully mobile platform due to its size.
Thundart and LPS as Alternatives to GMLRS for M270 MLRS
MBDA displayed both the Thundart being developed by France and the LPS being developed by the UK for the M270 MLRS (Used by both countries). Both missiles are intended as alternatives to the GMLRS 227 mm guided artillery rockets produced by the US, as seen from the presentations.
Thundart is an extended-range 227 mm rocket that is comparable to the GMLRS-ER, with a range of 150 km and GPS/INS guidance, in terms of specifications.
On the other hand, LPS is a rather unique design. The latest presentation shows a 227 mm two-stage missile with what might be the dual-mode mmWR+Laser seeker from Brimstone or the tri-mode seeker adding IIR guidance from SPEAR 3. The aerodynamic layout is also something to talk about, with control fins at the rear and stub wings at the midsection, something uncharacteristic of an artillery rocket.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor:Özgür Ekşi
