European missile maker MBDA and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) have inked a significant agreement aimed at fostering deeper cooperation between the two entities.
The MBDA’s press release explicitly mentioned that this strategic pact sets the stage for joint endeavors to integrate cutting-edge MBDA weapons onto KAI platforms, alongside a united marketing approach for their joint export.
The signing ceremony took place on Monday, November 20th, during a Korean State visit to the UK, where Chris Allam, Managing Director of MBDA UK, and Kang Goo-young, CEO of KAI, formalized this collaborative venture in London.
Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, expressed enthusiasm about this synergy: “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.”
Kang Goo-young echoed the sentiment, stating, “Recently, there has been growing global demand for various armaments. We will work with MBDA to propose enhanced domestic fighter aircraft to our customers.”
This agreement builds upon MBDA and KAI’s existing commitment to successfully integrate MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile onto the KAI-led KF-21 Boromae fighter aircraft.
Under this fresh agreement, potential areas of collaboration encompass the integration of new MBDA weapons like SPEAR, ASRAAM, and Brimstone onto KAI platforms such as the KF-21 and FA-50, alongside the joint export of these platforms and missiles.