Italy joins France and UK in Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapons program

Europe, News July 1, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Italy has partnered with France and the United Kingdom to join the Anglo-French Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapons (FC/ASW) program. The announcement of Italy’s accession to the program came during the Paris Air Show last week.

A Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed by the representatives of the three nations. The three signatories included Italy’s Secretary General of Defense and National Armament Director Lieutenant General Luciano Portolano, National Armament Director of the United Kingdom Andy Start, and the Chief Executive of France’s Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) Emmanuel Chiva.

According to a statement released by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Italian side will join the program initially through a dialogue phase that is set to take place between the three partners in the coming months. After successful trilateral dialogues, Italy would proceed to be a part of the development phase of the program.

The statement highlighted that “the objective for each of the three countries is to have an operational deep strike capability by 2030. This new phase of the FC/ASW program will strengthen the industrial and technological base of European defense around MBDA, the European leader in the field of missiles”

The European missile manufacturer, MBDA, is leading the program. The MBDA welcomed Italy’s intent to join the program. CEO of MBDA Eric Beranger said that “We are delighted with Italy’s intent to join the FC/ASW program.”

^{Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Director General Air, Vice Admiral Rick Thompson endorsed a new Letter of Intent signed by the representatives of Italy, France, and the UK at the Paris Air Show. (Image Credit: MBDA)}

Beranger added that “Befitting our role as a champion of European defense cooperation, sharing technologies, capabilities, and expertise among our countries, we are pleased that this LoI (Letter of Intent) opens the door for our Italian expertise to also be brought to bear in delivering this truly strategic defense capability for Europe. FC/ASW will meet the operational needs of the Italian, British, and French armed forces in the deep strike and anti-ship domains for the decades to come.”

FC/ASW Program

The Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapons (FC/ASW) program was launched by the United Kingdom and France in 2017 following the Lancaster House agreement of 2010. The program is aimed at developing new technologies to replace the existing cruise and anti-ship missiles by 2030.

Through FC/ASW, the UK and France plan to upgrade their air-launched Scalp and Storm Shadow missiles as well as the air and ship-launched Exocet, OTOMAT, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which are currently in service with both French and British forces.

*^{MBDA’s Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapons program. (Image Credit: European Defense Review Online)}*

Jointly financed by France and the UK, and led by MBDA, the FC/ASW has been described as a ramjet motor-powered missile that is 5 meters in length, and weighs about 800 kilograms. The missile would be able to carry a 200-kilogram of main warhead along with two 50-kilogram subsidiary warheads. The missile can attack multiple targets simultaneously or strike a large single target at several points to maximize damage.