MoD announces new £14 million contract boosts RAF missile stocks

Thursday, Jan 17, 2013

A new £14 million contract will deliver hundreds of precision attack weapons to the RAF, the MoD has announced today.

Brimstone missiles are carried by RAF Tornado aircraft in Afghanistan and were also used on operations over Libya. Defence Equipment Minister Philip Dunne agreed the contract and has just returned from a visit to Helmand where he met RAF personnel who use the weapon.

This contract with MBDA will increase UK stocks by replenishing weapons used so effectively in Afghanistan and Libya.

Manufactured and assembled at MBDA facilities in Henlow, Bedfordshire, and Lostock, Bolton, the Dual Mode Seeker Brimstone (DMSB) missile is used by RAF crews to engage moving or static targets at day or night with pin point accuracy. The weapon’s precision guidance capability means that the pilot is able to engage fleeting targets with extreme accuracy.

During his visit to Afghanistan, the Minister met with British personnel working for Joint Force Support, based in Camp Bastion, who are responsible for coordinating air operations in Helmand.

Source: MoD