Babcock, Frankenburg plan launcher for ‘smallest’ anti-drone missile
AI Analysis
British defense firm Babcock and Estonian startup Frankenburg Technologies are collaborating to develop a containerized launcher for the Mark 1 missile, the world's smallest guided missile, aimed at providing cost-effective maritime counter-drone solutions. The Mark 1 missile is designed for rapid mass production and affordability, addressing the growing threat of drones in modern warfare.
Key Takeaways
- Babcock and Frankenburg signed an MoU to develop a maritime counter-drone air-defense system.
- Frankenburg's Mark 1 missile is the smallest guided missile, designed for mass production and affordability.
- The Mark 1 missile was developed in 13 months and has demonstrated successful intercept capabilities.
- Frankenburg plans to produce 100 missiles per day in Estonia's Defence Industry Park, with potential for 10,000 units annually in Poland.
- The collaboration aims to address the increasing threat of low-cost drones, as seen in the Ukraine conflict, with scalable, affordable solutions.
Why It Matters
This partnership highlights the growing need for cost-effective and scalable counter-UAS solutions as drones become a dominant threat in modern warfare. The focus on rapid production and affordability could set a new benchmark for counter-drone technologies, particularly in maritime and European defense contexts.
PARIS — British defense firm Babcock plans to develop a containerized launch system for low-cost missiles manufactured by Estonian startup Frankenburg Technologies, with the goal of providing cheap maritime defenses against one-way attack drones.
Babcock and Frankenburg signed a memorandum of understanding to explore development of a “new and affordable” maritime counter-drone air-defense system, with engineering led from the United Kingdom in order to provide a “new sovereign capability,” the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
Tallinn, Estonia-based Frankenburg says it aims to develop missile systems that are ten times cheaper and a hundred times faster to produce than current industry capabilities. The company is run by CEO Kusti Salm, a former Estonia Ministry of Defence official, while former Diehl Defence executive Andreas Bappert is in charge of technology and engineering.
“The drone threat has changed the character of warfare, and every layer of defense now needs to be designed for mass and speed from the outset,” Salm said in the statement. Partnering with Babcock will allow for “accelerating the delivery of an operational maritime capability,” the CEO said.
The jointly developed air-defense capability will provide “more affordable, scalable and kinetic solutions” to protect military personnel and critical infrastructure sites across Europe, according to the companies, which said the cooperation will open up global export opportunities.
The move comes as armed forces across Europe are scrambling for cost-effective counters against the cheap drones that have become ubiquitous over the battlefield in Ukraine.
Salm has said Frankenburg’s Mark 1 missile is the world’s smallest guided missile. The company was picked by Estonia in October as one of four companies to set up production facilities in the country’s new Defence Industry Park, with plans for production capacity of 100 short-range air-defense missiles a day in a first phase.
The Mark 1 is around 60 centimeters long and was designed for mass production, powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor and built from commercially available components, with Frankenburg saying the missile was went from concept to live firing in 13 months.
The company in December announced its first “full kill-chain hard-kill intercept” against a fast-moving aerial target at Ādaži NATO base in Latvia, calling the test a “true “SpaceX moment” for the missile industry.”
“Defense has entered a new era with the rapid development of drone warfare and industry needs to respond to this growing threat,” Babcock CEO David Lockwood said in the statement.
Frankenburg signed an MoU with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa in November to integrate the Estonian company’s missiles on PGZ platforms, with plans to establish local missile manufacturing capacity of up to 10,000 units a year.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.