The European Commission and MBDA sign agreements for the HYDIS project, launching a 3-year concept phase for the AQUILA hypersonic missile interceptor.
MBDA press release
The HYDIS Project has just achieved another significant milestone for the concept development of the future European counter-hypersonic and anti-ballistic interceptor by successfully completing its Final Concept Review. One interceptor concept has proven its relevance and has been selected by the Participating States (France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands), over the two concepts from the Initial Concept Review. This marks a significant step before the conclusive milestone of the Concept Phase in May 2027.
Over the past few months, the consortium partners led by MBDA have worked hard in all domains of the interceptor and weapon system design, renowned institutes, academics and start-ups – on the design and technology maturation activities. The technical activities encompassed the design studies to refine the solid rocket motor-based concepts to match our customer requirements.
The HYDIS team specifically established an extensive performance assessment to evaluate the interception capabilities and the area protection of the most promising concepts based on a simulation with enhanced representation of the several phases of the interceptor fly-out.
The selected interceptor concept has also benefitted from the unique expertise of consortium members, notably AVIO for the Solid Rocket Motor propulsive architecture, ArianeGroup and ROXEL for the final interceptor stage control mechanism and LYNRED for the terminal IR sensor. All integrated in a coherent concept based on MBDA’s expertise in complex weapon systems.
The consortium has also made progress on integrating this interceptor into a complete weapon system. Thales Netherlands has provided refined performance data for both naval and ground sensor suite options, while GKN Fokker has gotten forward on the integrability assessment of the ammunition into the MK41s naval launcher.
The results of these studies were scrutinised by the HYDIS customer community (OCCAR – the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation – and the 4 Participating States) along a period of six weeks, allowing a solid exchange and fruitful iterations among the customers and the consortium. The convergence week provided the opportunity to address, resolve and converge on all the technical questions, allowing the consortium to present a clear and agreed picture to the HYDIS nations Steering Committee on July 10th. This new milestone demonstrates the consortium’s full expertise in the fields of hypersonic and ballistic threats, backed by in-depth knowledge of air defence systems. Together, the HYDIS team members leverage on a robust capability to design a sovereign, advanced interceptor, that is timely responding to Europe’s operational needs.
From now on until the end of the Concept Phase in 2027, the consortium will put all its effort into the refinement of a unique concept, paving the way for a strong technical basis for the following Programme phases.
The European Hypersonic Defence Interceptor System” (HYDIS) is a project co-funded by the European Union, under the European Defence Fund, and by four Participating States (PSs) which are France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. OCCAR has been entrusted by the European Commission (EC) for the indirect management of the action by the signature of a Contribution Agreement. OCCAR, as Contracting Authority, has concluded a contract with the HYDIS consortium to implement the programme, on behalf of EU and the Member States.
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Naval News comments:
The AQUILA interceptor concept is being developed under the wider HYDIS framework. MBDA’s approach builds heavily on its existing pedigree with the ASTER family of anti-missile interceptors, utilizing lessons learned from tracking and engaging high-velocity threats. By positioning AQUILA as a dedicated counter-hypersonic solution for European nations, MBDA aims to integrate this next-generation capability seamlessly into its broader global area defense portfolio, offering layered integration alongside existing naval and land-based air defense systems.
The formal launch of the HYDIS concept phase intensifies a high-stakes industrial race for Europe’s future hypersonic shield. MBDA’s primary competition comes from the HYDEF (Hypersonic Defence Interceptor) program, a rival consortium led by Spain’s SMS with Germany’s Diehl Defence driving the technical architecture. While MBDA leverages its Aster missile pedigree, Diehl’s concept builds upon its established IRIS-T air defense family. Both consortia are actively positioning their proposals for the next-generation HYDEF pre-development phase. With the European Defence Fund aiming to streamline its backing down to a single architecture, this duplicate funding strategy forces a direct Franco-German industrial showdown over who will ultimately supply the continent’s endo-atmospheric interceptor.
Check out our coverage of the unveiling of AQUILA at the Paris Air Show 2023:
