As signalled by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on 2 March 2025, the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the following day that it has placed a GBP 1.6 billion (EUR 1.9 billion) contract with Thales for more than 5,000 Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs) for Ukraine.
DE&S placed the contract on behalf of the Ukrainian government as part of Task Force HIRST: the UK cross-governmental team incorporating the MoD, the Department of Business and Trade and UK Export Finance (UKEF) to stimulate UK industrial production and international collaboration in support of Ukraine, including collaboration with Ukrainian companies. The contract is being funded by a loan underwritten by UKEF after a deal signed last year to allow Ukraine to draw on GBP 3.5 billion worth of support from UKEF to spend with UK industry.
The missile order, which will see production of LMMs treble, is the largest contract ever received by Thales in Belfast and the second largest the UK Ministry of Defence has placed with the company, building on a previous GBP 162 million contract with Thales, signed in September 2024, for 650 missiles.
DE&S further stated that the contract would see 200 new jobs created and support 700 existing jobs at Thales in Belfast, with benefits also tricking down through Thales’ UK supply chain.
“The signing of the Task Force Hirst LMM Mega Contract signifies a step change in the scale of the support being provided by UK for Ukraine,” Major General Anna-Lee Reilly, Director Strategic Capability, Engagement and Operations and Director Hirst at DE&S, was quoted as saying in a DE&S press release. “This UK Export Finance-enabled contract gives Ukraine the vital equipment that it needs, and significantly increases the UK’s production of short-range air defence missiles. This is a perfect example of the work of Task Force Hirst, bringing together the best of UK and Ukrainian defence industry to rapidly provide the large-scale support that Ukraine requires in its hour of need.”
UK Defence Secretary John Healey added that the new LMM contract “will help protect Ukraine against drone and missile attacks, but it will also help deter further Russian aggression following any end to the fighting”.
The Ukrainian military has already put the LMM to use as part of its air defences following the September contract for 650 missiles, deliveries of which started in December 2024. The LMMs are reported to have been highly effective in protecting civilians and critical infrastructure from Russian missile and bomb-laden drone attacks.
The UK has committed to spending GBP 3 billion next financial year to support Ukraine, with an additional GBP 1.5 billion from interest on seized assets through the Extraordinary Revenue Accelerator, taking the total to GBP 4.5 billion.
