PARIS — The U.K. placed an order worth as much as £1.6 billion ($2 billion) with Thales to supply more than 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine, the government said.
The Defence Equipment & Support department of the British Ministry of Defence placed the order for the Thales-made Lightweight Multirole Missile on behalf of the Ukrainian government, it said in a statement on Monday. The order follows an announcement by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday following a meeting of European leaders in London to discuss support for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been requesting more air defense for his country for months, as Russia targets Ukraine’s civilian population as well as its energy infrastructure with everything from suicide drones to ballistic missiles.
Continuing and increasing supply and support of Western air-defense systems is critical in the face of Russian plans to ramp up production of missiles and attack drones, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies
“This new support will help protect Ukraine against drone and missile attacks but it will also help deter further Russian aggression following any end to the fighting,” Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement.
The missiles will be produced at Thales in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the order will create 200 jobs and support 700 existing ones, the Ministry of Defence said. The order is the largest ever for Thales in Belfast, and the U.K.’s second-largest order with the company overall, according to the MoD.
The missiles will be funded by a loan underwritten by UK Export Finance, following a deal last year to allow Ukraine to draw on £3.5 billion of export financing to spend with British industry. The contract is worth an initial £1.16 billion, with potential for another £500 million of work added, according to the ministry.
The contract follows up on an initial £162 million order in September for 650 LMM missiles for Ukraine to ramp up production, with delivery starting in December. Ukraine has already used the missiles, and they’ve been “incredibly effective in protecting civilians and critical infrastructure from Russia’s bombardment,” the ministry said.
The new order will triple production of LMM missiles at the Thales factory in Belfast, and benefit companies in the supply chain across the U.K., according to the MoD.
The LMM is a lightweight missile with laser guidance, which Thales says allows for “low collateral damage,” meaning the missile is optimized for operation in urban environments. The missile weighs 13 kilograms, is equipped with a triple-effect warhead and a proximity fuse, travels at Mach 1.5 and has a range of more than 6 kilometers.
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.
