Defence Procurement Minister Lord Bach today welcomed the agreement reached between the Ministry of Defence and MBDA UK Ltd (formerly Matra BAe Dynamics) to bring the new Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile into service this month with the Royal Air Force.
The RAF's Tornado F3 will be the first of our aircraft to be fitted with ASRAAM. The missile will also be one of Eurofighter's principal weapons when the aircraft comes into service.
Lord Bach said:
"I am delighted that the excellent ASRAAM missile is now entering service. It will provide a major advance in our short-range air-to-air combat capability, giving our pilots the decisive edge in air superiority well into the future."
"I am very pleased with the constructive approach adopted by MBDA and MOD officials. By adopting the best practices of Smart Acquisition, they have reached a speedy and successful resolution. We now have a robust and clear route map to get to the level of missile performance we need, which is precisely what we set out to achieve. By working to overcome our differences, we have achieved what is undoubtedly good news for the company and for our world class military aircrews."
Background Notes:
1. The delivery of the first batch of ASRAAM missiles marks the successful resolution of a contractual dispute between the Ministry of Defence and the missile manufacturer MBDA. The missile was scheduled to enter service in April last year but was not accepted by MoD on the grounds that certain performance standards had not been fully achieved.
2. In April last year, the then Defence Procurement Minister Baroness Symons called for a clear and robust route map to achieve the full operational capability required and enable a new ISD to be set. MoD and MBDA have worked constructively together since then and have now achieved precisely what Baroness Symons called for. The missile is now in service and will be ready for operational deployment this summer.
3. The first batch of missiles, for ISD, will be to an interim standard, which will nonetheless offer a significant improvement over the current Sidewinder.Delivery of production missiles to a higher interim standard will start in mid-2002. There will be a continued development programme with further software upgrades that will lead to full operational capability. MBDA will be carrying this work forward under its existing contract. (ends)
ASRAAM Enters Service With Royal Air Force Minister Delighted With New ASRAAM Missile For RAF
