Photo: MBDA
The UK Ministry of Defence has announced that it will invest £3.5 million ($4.8 million) to develop a new missile system. The project, dubbed the Co-operative Strike Weapons Technology Demonstrator (CSWTD), will be led by the Defence Science Technology Laboratory and will look into how inter-missile communication may help weapons systems work together.
The project's goal is to improve missile flexibility and responsiveness, focusing on weapon systems that can react quickly to changing threats or situations. Instead of working individually, an upgraded software system will allow them to work together and communicate during missions.
Currently, missiles can only talk to the launch platform. TThe CSWTD project will supply the hardware and software basis for future inter-communicating missiles to address this limitation. It will also provide a variety of systems studies that will help the British Armed Forces better understand how co-operative missiles could be deployed in different real-world scenarios.
The CSWTD project is part of a larger £6.6 billion ($8 billion) investment into Research and Development by the Ministry. The new program was already set in motion in April of this year and is expected to last for at least two years. Scientists at the Defence Science Technology Laboratory are now evaluating various military tactics and scenarios in close partnership with defense company MBDA.
MBDA is an industry partner with whom the Ministry of Defence has previously collaborated, particularly with regard to missile systems. Back in January, the company announced it had signed a seven-year contract to demonstrate and build new MBDA surface-attack missiles for the UK's fleet of Lockheed Marin F-35B fighter jets.
For this new project, the Ministry of Defence plans to conduct a demonstration of the missile system and analyze how weapon inter-communication could be used in operational scenarios. If successful, within the next five years, UK platforms might take advantage of smarter missiles that can" talk" to each other.
Currently, missiles can only talk to the launch platform. TThe CSWTD project will supply the hardware and software basis for future inter-communicating missiles to address this limitation. It will also provide a variety of systems studies that will help the British Armed Forces better understand how co-operative missiles could be deployed in different real-world scenarios.
The CSWTD project is part of a larger £6.6 billion ($8 billion) investment into Research and Development by the Ministry. The new program was already set in motion in April of this year and is expected to last for at least two years. Scientists at the Defence Science Technology Laboratory are now evaluating various military tactics and scenarios in close partnership with defense company MBDA.
MBDA is an industry partner with whom the Ministry of Defence has previously collaborated, particularly with regard to missile systems. Back in January, the company announced it had signed a seven-year contract to demonstrate and build new MBDA surface-attack missiles for the UK's fleet of Lockheed Marin F-35B fighter jets.
For this new project, the Ministry of Defence plans to conduct a demonstration of the missile system and analyze how weapon inter-communication could be used in operational scenarios. If successful, within the next five years, UK platforms might take advantage of smarter missiles that can" talk" to each other.
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