Britain, France collaborate on missile upgrade program

The British and French governments joined forces Wednesday in a program that will see an upgrade of missiles used by war planes from the air forces of both countries.

After a series of talks in London, British Minister for Defense Procurement Harriett Baldwin announced a 146-million-pound (182 million U.S. dollars) contract with British weapons company MBDA to regenerate an air-launched missile. Taking part in the talks was Baldwin's French counterpart Laurent Collet-Billon.

The Ministry of Defense (MOD) said in London the shared deal with MDBA will see Britain's Storm Shadow and France's SCALP missiles updated so they remain fit for purpose and ready for operational use.

The strong partnership between Britain and France was confirmed in the series of meetings in London, with a spokesman saying the collaboration is providing a 50-million-pound saving for both sides.

"The contract will keep the missile in service for the next decade and beyond and help to sustain around 60 UK jobs. Storm Shadow is a combat-proven, long-range, precision cruise missile, already in service with RAF Tornados, deployed recently against Daesh in Iraq," said the MOD.

Douglas, CEO of the MOD's Defense Equipment and Support Organization, said: "The contract to regenerate Storm Shadow, a combat-proven, all-weather precision missile, provides a clear example of the MOD and UK industry working effectively together with our counter parts in France.

"France is the UK's most important European Ally, with both countries' defense budgets together account for almost half of all European defense spending. This deal is the most recent example of collaboration in a long history of cooperation on defense and security," he said. Endit