MBDA and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) have signed an agreement to deepen cooperation, the former announced on 24 November.
The latest agreement calls for both companies to explore new opportunities for the integration of new MBDA weapons onto KAI aircraft platforms. It also provisions for joint marketing of their respective products.
According to MBDA, new areas of cooperation being explored under the new agreement include the integration of the latest MBDA weapons such as Selective Precision Effects At Range (SPEAR), Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), and Brimstone onto KAI platforms such as KF-21 Boramae and FA-50.
The agreement was signed by Managing Director of MBDA UK Chris Allam and KAI CEO Kang Goo-young in London on the sidelines of a state visit by South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol.
“The combination of MBDA’s world leading weapon products and technologies with KAI’s proven record of new aircraft development and rapid delivery is an exciting prospect for the world defence market, reflecting the shared values and interests of both parties,” said MBDA CEO Eric Béranger.
“Recently, there has been growing global demand for various armaments,” added Kang. “We will work with MBDA to propose enhanced domestic fighter aircraft to our customers.”
MBDA earlier announced in October that it has been awarded a contract from KAI to supply and integrate its Mistral Air-to-Air Missile (ATAM) system on the Korean Marine Attack Helicopter (KMAH).
According to MDBA, the Mistral ATAM is based on the Mistral short-range anti-air missile (SAM) which features a fire-and-forget engagement mode, high kill probability, and ease of operation. The company added that the ATAM system can be launched at altitudes over 15,000 ft and comprises two launchers per helicopter, each carrying two missiles.
by Jr Ng
