MBDA has received a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract to examine the viability of integrating the Aster 30 surface-to-air missile with the Lockheed Martin MK 41 vertical launching system (VLS).
The 10-month single-source contract, running to the end of August 2027, is valued at £1.86 million. “The findings will inform strategic decisions on future capability development and operational flexibility to reduce the need for separate launcher solutions for different missile types,” the MoD said in a 30 October award notice.
Aster 30 is already used by the Royal Navy (RN) as part of the Sea Viper air defence missile system installed on board Type 45 destroyers. A UK-specific variant of the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) co-developed with France and Italy, the Sea Viper ‘system of systems’ includes a 48-cell SYLVER A50 VLS sourced from Naval Group: Aster 30 and the shorter range Aster 15 are currently only qualified for launch from the SYLVER launcher.
The RN has set out plans to standardise on the MK 41 VLS for all future crewed surface ship classes. This decision reflects the fact that the MK 41, already in widespread use by the US Navy and other NATO/allied navies, offers a much broader choice of proven weapon integrations.
Justifying the direct award on the basis of no reasonable alternatives, the MoD said that MBDA UK Limited was the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the Aster missile and possessed the technical knowledge to assess the feasibility of integrating new launcher technology with existing systems. “MBDA also has contractual rights to use the technical data of Lockheed Martin who is the OEM for the MK 41 launcher system,” it added.
The RN’s eight new Type 26 frigates are being configured with a 24-cell MK 41 VLS installation from build. The UK’s Defence Investment Plan, presented in June 2026, also confirmed plans to install MK 41 in the five Type 31 frigates.
Integration of Aster 15 and 30 with the MK 41 VLS was considered at the outset of the tripartite PAAMS programme back in the early 1990s. However, the decision was made at that time to procure the alternative SYLVER VLS as a common PAAMS subsystem for France, Italy and the UK.
It is noteworthy that MBDA has designed its new Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) deep strike missile family to be compatible with both MK 41 and SYLVER VLS infrastructure. The FC/ASW programme – given the name Stratus by MBDA – is developing two different missiles in the form of the subsonic, long range, very low observable Stratus LO cruise missile and the high-supersonic/high-agility ramjet-powered Stratus RS.
