MBDA and the UK Ministry of Defence have renewed their strategic partnership on complex weapons for a further decade, with a renewed Portfolio Management Agreement (PMA). Known as PMA2 and worth at least £6.5 billion, the agreement will deliver battle winning complex weapons to the UK Armed Forces faster, at lower cost and with greater agility. PMA2 will also support British jobs, skills and industrial investment. The new agreement confirms MBDA as the MOD’s preferred supplier of complex weapons. Its framework will drive a further £2 billion in benefits and efficiencies while enhancing current capabilities. The new agreement also is anticipated to deliver new systems such as the Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW), Land Precision Strike and continue the evolution of Meteor.
The PMA2 incorporates a decade of learning into the running of the complex weapons portfolio. It includes a number of measures to enhance performance including, improved commercial agreements, acceleration of procurement processes and enabling ‘always-on’ manufacturing. It will hold industry at a high state of readiness to respond to the demands of Defence. The original PMA secured a strong and innovative British industrial base. While providing the UK with the freedom of action to respond to conflicts on its own terms, the original PMA also produced confirmed savings of £2.6 billion. With the UK seen as a strong partner, the original PMA also supported international collaborations and saw UK exports grow by 6.5 times.
Chris Allam, Managing Director of MBDA UK, said: “Renewing the MOD-MBDA partnership for a further decade underscores our role as a critical national asset supporting UK Defence. PMA2 will build upon the many successes of the past decade while delivering enhanced value, speed and agility for the UK Armed Forces and enabling better collaboration with our allies across Europe.”
Eric Beranger, CEO of MBDA, said: “PMA2 underlines the excellent work done by our colleagues to innovatively support the UK, acting as both a key sovereign national champion and as a conduit for international co-operation across our group and worldwide.”
Today more than 5,500 people work at MBDA UK sites in the North-West, East and the South-West of England. Nearly doubling the workforce since 2010. MBDA’s work also supports thousands of further jobs in the eco-system of its UK’s supply chain. The value of the PMA model has enabled MBDA to invest over £550 million in the UK, including a new manufacturing site in Bolton. PMA2 will see a further £500 million of MBDA investment in British manufacturing and technologies. MBDA is a unique multi-national European group, a world-leader in the field of complex weapon systems, playing a key role in keeping nations safe. Created in the spirit of international co-operation, MBDA and its 14,000+ employees work together to support the national sovereignty of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, and their allies worldwide. As an accelerator for innovation, MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and manufacturing complex weapons to meet the full range of current and future operational requirements of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%) and Leonardo (25%) jointly own MBDA.
