On 15 May 2024 European missile house MBDA signed with Europe’s Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) a European Defence Fund grant agreement on behalf of the partners of the HYpersonic Defence Interceptor Study (HYDIS2) consortium and a linked procurement contract (member states co-funding).
The signing marks the beginning of a three-year HYDIS2 concept phase: a major milestone of which the objective is to select the most suitable and effective counter-hypersonic and anti-ballistic concept with its associated weapon architecture.
Co-ordinated by MBDA, this new chapter will allow the partners to:
- collect and harmonise the definition of operational scenarios and a weapon systems interface, taking into account European and NATO roadmaps;
- build a joint definition of each threat based on the knowledge and expertise of all the partners involved;
- consolidate weapon system requirements and integration in the whole engagement chain;
- select the most suitable counter-hypersonic and anti-ballistic concept of interceptor for European nations’ needs, with the associated weapon system architecture to prepare an assessment phase and aim at an in-service date at the 2035 horizon;
- mature the technologies that enable the implementation of the counter-hypersonic concept in the next programme phase; and
- create the industrial network to develop the resultant future counter-hypersonic missile systems.
In co-ordinating the HYDIS2 consortium, MBDA brings together 19 partners and more than 20 subcontractors in 14 European countries. Along with MBDA in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, the partners are ArianeGroup, Avio, Avio Aero, Bayern-Chemie, CIRA, DLR, GKN Fokker, Lynred, OHB System, the the French National Aerospace Research Centre (ONERA), Roxel France, Thales LAS France, TDW, Thales Netherlands and the Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).
HYDIS² is a central element of the contribution of European states to the mission of defending populations and armed forces against the emerging threat from hypersonic weapons.
