British Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin stated that “The Planning Assumption for Service Entry for Future Cruise /Anti-Ship Weapon on the T26 Frigate and Typhoon aircraft is 2027 and 2030 respectively.”
Quin also added:
“The Concept Phase has
been focussed on conducting in-depth operational analysis, technical studies
and initial design activity to refine user requirements and better understand
the options available to MOD to meet these. The Concept Phase findings form
part of the Programme’s Outline Business Case for Ministerial consideration.”
Last year, MBDA
announced the successful completion of its’ Key Review,’ which was conducted in
collaboration with the U.K. and French armament procurement agencies, Defence
Equipment and Support (DE&S) and the Direction Générale de l’Armement
(DGA).
The completion of this
Key Review allows for selecting the most promising missile concepts to meet the
requirements expressed by both nations’ armed forces. The study’s findings will
also allow for the establishment of road maps for maturing the required
technologies and the launch of any subsequent assessment phase.
In 2016 at the UK–France
Security Summit, the two countries agreed to work on a “joint concept phase for
the FC/ASW programme to identify solutions for replacing the Scalp/Storm Shadow
missiles for both countries, Harpoon for the UK and Exocet for France. The
FC/ASW programme was reaffirmed at the 2018 United Kingdom-France Summit.
In response to the
AUKUS security pact, which saw Australia cancel the acquisition of
French-designed conventional submarines in favour of nuclear submarines based
on the US and UK technology, France postponed signing a Memorandum of Understanding
advance the project in September 2021. Admiral Tony Radakin, the First Sea
Lord, told the House of Commons Select Defence Committee in November that
options for FC/ASW were still “being looked at,” including potential hypersonic
weapons. If a collaborative approach is still pursued, the introduction of
these weapons may be delayed until the 2030s.
The FC/ASW has a
ramjet engine, is five metres long, weighs around 800 kg, and has a payload of
one 200 kg main warhead and two 50 kg subsidiary warheads. These warheads can
either contribute directly to the overall impact or be ejected from lateral
bays before the missile reaches its target, effectively acting as submunition.
