The extended air defence domain poses increasing challenges with fast-growing and complex threats, such as manoeuvring ballistic missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles. These new threats need to be addressed by dedicated interception solutions to ensure the efficient protection of domestic high value assets and operational deployments in the coming decades.

MBDA has worked for more than five years on innovative options for counter-hypersonic air-defence building on our expertise from the ASTER anti-missile interceptor and our deep knowledge of threats. This is the AQUILA project, proposing the most valuable counter-hypersonic interceptor concepts for European nations, alongside a global area defence portfolio with other MBDA air defence products.