LONDON, April 14. /TASS/. The European defense company MBDA, which produces Storm Shadow cruise missiles, intends to double output compared to 2023, chief executive Eric Beranger told the Financial Times in an interview.
"We need to be much more industrial, so to speak, in order to face [the] challenges" of boosting production, he pointed out. According to Beranger, the company has faced "intense pressure" from the military, particularly in France, to speed up supplies of its Aster surface-to-air missiles. The concern has already invested tens of millions of euros into the modernization of its production line, including by adding more robotic machines and expanding shifts.
The newspaper notes that the production time of the Aster missile has been reduced from over three years to two years. MBDA is also considering the option of expanding control over the key components, including through taking over contractors and ensuring vertical integration in order to speed up production. However, the plan has faced objections from France, the UK, and Italy, who fear that changes in the production architecture could weaken national influence within the transnational concern.
MBDA is a joint venture by France’s Airbus, Britain’s BAE Systems, and Italy’s Leonardo. The Storm Shadow missiles that the company produces are primarily supplied to Ukraine.