Defense company MBDA: Drama about the new German missile defense

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Germany's leading manufacturer of guided missiles and cruise missiles is facing the biggest downsizing in its history.

Because the Ministry of Defense is not planning any major expenditures for the billion-dollar project of a completely new missile defense system in the foreseeable future, MBDA Germany is cutting 300 of its 1,200 jobs.

As a spokesman said, the downsizing will take place over two years.

All activities would be examined for cost savings.

The loss of every fourth position at the Germany subsidiary of the largest European guided missile company marks a new chapter in the drama about the modernization of German missile defense.

The German taxpayer has already invested one billion euros in the advance development of the MEADS project, which is supported by MBDA Germany and Lockheed Martin (USA).

In 2015, the preliminary decision was made to procure the system to replace the Patriot defense missiles currently in use.

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But negotiations about the costs, risk sharing and technical details of the system continued.

MBDA Germany meanwhile delivered three offers.

The company explains that over the past five years 150 million euros have flowed out of their own pockets into the offers, negotiations and the maintenance of capacities.

Now the company is no longer willing to maintain this scale.

Experts refer to the project as TLVS (Tactical Air Defense System).

As it is said by insiders, the expected procurement costs rose from an initial four to over ten billion euros.

The enormous sums are probably the reason why the Ministry of Defense has not yet planned any funds for the procurement.

When buying new heavy-duty helicopters, the ministry initially pulled the rip cord because of the high costs.

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In the case of air defense, the threat scenario is also changing.

Russia is causing a stir with the operational readiness of long-range hypersonic weapons.

The latest Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan also shows how vulnerable tanks are to the use of drones.

Combating small drones with rockets worth millions would, on the other hand, not be sensible or effective.

Expensive island solution

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) recently stated that she wants to examine and evaluate the air defense in its entirety.

The focus is on threats from different distances and heights.

Bundeswehr experts say that there is a so-called capability gap to protect against attacks from close and immediate range, for example by swarms of drones.

The CDU politician has promised a decision on the future of air defense for the spring.

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In the past, MBDA Germany had repeatedly emphasized that its new defense system was also equipped for new threat scenarios.

The system is designed in such a way “that it can integrate even more powerful sensors and defense missiles in the future.

For example, laser weapons or anti-hypersonic missiles can be integrated. "

With 360 degree all-round protection and an open system architecture, it is more modern and more efficient than the Patriot defense system currently used in many countries.

Critics of the new technology, on the other hand, speak of an expensive isolated solution.

So far, no other country has definitely opted for the system, even if it can be coupled with defense systems of other NATO countries.

The USA and Italy have dropped out of their initial involvement in the development.

For MBDA Germany, based in Schrobenhausen in Bavaria, the lack of financial support from Berlin is a blow - also for the role within the entire MBDA group based in Paris.

The importance of the Germany subsidiary would continue to shrink within the group.

MBDA France is already four times the size.

One of the special features is that several missile and air defense systems are offered under the umbrella of MBDA, such as the French-Italian system Aster 30-Samp / T.

Europe cannot agree on a uniform system and is pursuing national industrial policy, which in turn drives up costs, is one allegation.

The owners of MBDA with 11,500 employees worldwide and a turnover of 3.7 billion euros are Airbus, BAE Systems (Great Britain) and Italy's defense company Leonardo.