MBDA invests heavily to boost missile production amid high demand

MBDA, a leading European missile manufacturer, has made significant investments in new equipment over the past three years and hired hundreds of workers to accelerate production in response to strong demand that has driven orders to record levels.

These efforts are positioning the group, best known for producing the Storm Shadow/Scalp missile, to double its production this year compared to 2023. MBDA has also faced intense pressure from the French army to deliver long-range Aster missiles more quickly, but like other European defense companies, it has struggled with expansion costs and strained supply chains.

According to the Financial Times (FT), the company recognizes that inefficiencies that were insignificant during peacetime are now a handicap.

MBDA’s order book has reached €37 billion, and at its current pace, it would take approximately seven years to fulfill this backlog. Chief Executive Officer Éric Béranger stated that the group needs to do more to adapt to a war economy where speed and volumes are critical, a situation not seen for decades.

In an interview with the FT, Béranger said, “We need to be much more industrial, so to speak, to face the challenges of increasing production.”

The complex production process of MBDA’s Aster missile exemplifies this. The incomplete weapon is shipped between France and Italy across the Alps several times for different stages of production, resulting in months spent for little industrial gain.

Béranger noted that if MBDA were a normal company, such problems would be “quite easy to solve.” However, it is much more difficult for a cross-border defense group that must balance the interests of its shareholders—Airbus and British BAE Systems, each holding 37.5%, and Italian Leonardo with a 25% share—and the armed forces it serves.

Nevertheless, two individuals familiar with the matter stated that Béranger’s proposal last year to simplify the “production footprint” was rejected by France, which viewed the restructuring as a threat to its leadership within the group and disruptive to efforts to increase production.

One of these individuals added that the UK was also not particularly supportive, with both countries viewing the proposal as favoring Italy.

While noting that discussions are ongoing, Béranger said, “I put on the table the question of whether we should consider improving the organization,” but given how MBDA provides weapons that are vital to their sovereignty, the issue was expected to be “very sensitive” for the countries involved.

Established in 1996 as a French-British collaboration and joined by Italy in 2001, MBDA stands out as one of Europe’s few successful multinational defense companies in a region still largely fragmented with national players. The company produces some of the world’s most sought-after missiles and competes with US groups such as RTX and Lockheed Martin.

Béranger suggested that MBDA could be a vehicle for additional joint weapons programs at this “moment of truth” for Europe, adding, “Being a tool for cooperation is in our DNA.”

However, critics argue that MBDA has not done enough to adapt. Sash Tusa, a defense analyst at Agency Partners, asserted that the company is structured according to weak demand from past decades and is “currently failing.”

Tusa added that MBDA “should proactively build working capital, heavily finance its suppliers, and create second sources for key components like rocket motors so that it can increase production.”

Tusa also questioned whether MBDA’s shareholders are limiting its ability to invest by demanding regular dividend payments.

Béranger declined to comment on dividends. The CEO stated, “So far, we have been able to mobilize the investments that we thought were necessary.”

MBDA plans to invest €2.4 billion from 2023 to 2028 to increase production, and Béranger said that this amount could increase if necessary.

A key focus within the company has been increasing the production of the Aster missile. Comprising 10,000 components, from titanium fins to high-performance computer chips, the missile is among the most complex weapons MBDA produces.

Approximately €50 million was spent last year to increase the number of robotic machines performing various stages of production to 50, with an additional dozen to be installed next year.

The workflow has been overhauled to accommodate the equipment and personnel. Weekend shifts have increased from three to 13 people, while the total working hours within the group are on track to double from 2020 to 2025.

During a recent visit, robots in the hangar-like factory floor where the Aster is assembled sanded metal components and fabricated carbon fiber storage boxes that can prevent accidental explosions.

According to the FT, accelerating production has also required creative thinking. Instead of waiting a year or more for robotic machines to be delivered, a production manager for Aster flew to Germany and Japan last year and convinced manufacturers to sign long-term lease agreements for three “showroom models.” These machines were operational in Bourges, France, just four months later.

The production time for Aster has been reduced from over three years in 2022 to just over two years, and the company aims to reduce the time further. Progress has been better on the smaller, simpler Mistral and Akeron missiles.

An employee at the company admitted that Aster was designed at a time when no one thought mass quantities would be needed, so complexity was not a disadvantage.

This person said, “Production was divided into pieces like a puzzle to make every country happy. It’s an extraordinary product that has proven its effectiveness on the battlefield, but from an industrial point of view, it’s a complete nightmare.”

However, accelerating some steps, such as making a critical component of the missile’s guidance system—a circuit board filled with chips—has been difficult. Reducing the number of trips between France and Italy will also be both challenging and risky.

According to officials, new production lines will need to be recertified, and quality standards could decline. Like some of its peers, MBDA believes that vertical integration will help increase its production and acquired solid rocket motor supplier Roxel last year.

MBDA will now pump more cash into growing the group and also prevent its competitors from buying up the under-supplied rocket motors.

When asked whether MBDA should acquire more suppliers similar to Roxel, Béranger said he was open to it, adding, “There is no dogma. The important thing is that it is efficient.”