Amid Aukus tensions, Britain-France strike deal to develop new missiles

Name: US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific
Uploaded: 2022-02-19T07:26:00.000Z
Duration: 3 min 51 s
Description: US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific

New weapons would replace existing missiles in use by the two countries’ navies and air forces

Countries had been at loggerheads on defence issues since Britain and the US struck deal in 2021 to produce nuclear-powered subs for Australia

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A cruise missile is launched from a French military vessel in the Mediterranean sea towards targets in Syria in April 2018. Photo: AFP/ECPAD

Agence France-Pressein Paris

Published: 3:26pm, 19 Feb 2022

Britain and France have signed a deal to jointly develop new cruise and anti-ship missiles, their defence procurement agencies and manufacturer MDBA said Friday, after months of cross-Channel defence tensions over a submarine deal with Australia.

Paris and London “have confirmed the launch of the preparation works for the Future Cruise / Anti-Ship Weapon,” European missile specialist MBDA said in a statement.

Both Britain’s Defence Equipment and Support and France’s DGA procurement agency confirmed the three-year contract, which MBDA said aimed to develop weapons “to be fielded at the end of the decade”.

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US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific

MBDA’s new weapons, a subsonic stealth variant and a “highly manoeuvrable” supersonic version, would replace existing missiles in use by the two countries’ navies and air forces.

The two countries had been at loggerheads on defence issues since last year, when Britain and the US struck a deal to produce nuclear-powered submarines for Australia as Canberra tore up an existing contract with France.

French Defence Minister Florence Parly had said in October that the missile project was “in difficulties, given the state of our relations with the UK”.