Air Power 2017

110 AIR POWER 2017

21 ST CENTURY CAPABILITIES

21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS

MBDA offers an insight into two key RAF air-to-surface

precision munitions – the Brimstone spiral upgrade and

the SPEAR development programme

PRECISELY SPEAKING

M

BDA has a long history providing

cutting-edge capability to the Royal

Air Force (RAF). The high tempo of

recent operations has demanded

rapid advances in the air-to-ground domain, with

MBDA meeting the challenge through the spiral

upgrade of weapons such as Brimstone – work

that is providing the foundations for the RAF’s

next generation of high-precision strike capability

with SPEAR (Select Precision Effects at Range).

Originally designed as an all-weather fire-

and-forget weapon to counter massed armoured

formations, Brimstone has evolved into the one

of, if not the most, versatile weapons in the RAF’s

arsenal. Today, Brimstone is a unique precision attack

weapon, robust enough to be carried from fast

jets and able to be used under very tight rules of

engagement due to its high accuracy and very low

collateral damage, while also able to strike the most

challenging fast-moving and manoeuvrable targets.

Although designed

specifically for the

F-35, SPEAR can

be deployed by

Typhoon alongside

the Brimstone air-

to-ground missile

(PHOTO: MBDA)

Since entering service with the RAF in 2005,

Brimstone has undergone a spiral upgrade programme

that has radically broadened its capabilities. Soon after

the millimetric wave (mmW) radar-guided version

entered RAF service, MBDA completely overhauled

Brimstone as an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR)

for use in Afghanistan and Iraq. With Brimstone’s target

set now significantly more varied than simply armour,

the addition of man-in-the-loop control and semi-

active laser (SAL) seeker guidance became imperative.

Rapidly developed by MBDA and put into service in

fewer than three years, the new dual-mode seeker

was – and remains – the most advanced combined

mmW and SAL seeker anywhere in the world.

The new dual-mode Brimstones rapidly proved

their worth in UK operations, giving the RAF an

unprecedented ability to hit challenging targets in

urban environments. After widespread use of Brimstone

in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the Ministry of Defence

(MOD) placed a second UOR order for the conversion