Following the news that Britain’s Type 45 destroyers will be the first in Europe to gain an anti-ballistic missile upgrade;

James Marques, Aerospace, Defense and Security Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“A £300 million contract with the European missile consortium MBDA will see the Aster 30 Block 1 land-based system be converted to a maritime version for use on the UK’s Daring-class air warfare vessels. It comes as part of a broader upgrade package for the class that will modernise radar and mission systems and expand its overall missile capacity with the Common Anti Air Modular Missile (CAMM).

“However, the new Aster missiles will represent the biggest leap in capability and stands out as the first of such systems to be employed in a European military. The missiles will be crucial to defend vulnerable platforms such as aircraft carriers against modern anti-ship ballistic missile threats.

“Asides from boosting the Navy’s firepower, joining the block 1 missile program with France and Italy will also benefit the UK’s economy – the upgrade will provide 100 high-skilled jobs across the country, including Bristol, Stevenage and Cowes, where defense company, BAE Systems, already runs a facility specialising in naval technologies. The move helps fulfil the Defence Command Paper’s goal of improving the British military’s capability to compete with peer conventional threats and strengthen the domestic knowledge base for high-end capabilities. Furthering UK involvement in a sector predicted to be worth $52.3 billion by 2031 is likely a wise move for a longer-term defense industrial strategy in an increasingly competitive and unpredictable security environment.”