LONDON — Britain’s Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Thales UK to purchase “Martlet” missiles to boost the country’s stockpiles, after donating hundreds to Ukraine.
UK Defence Equipment & Support, the Ministry of Defence’s procurement arm, announced the new order, worth $227 million, at the Farnborough International Airshow.
“The Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) will equip the UK armed forces and we expect deliveries to begin in 2027,” Defence Procurement and Industry Minister Maria Eagle told reporters.
She would not say exactly how many missiles had been ordered, saying it is too sensitive to reveal information about British ammunition stocks.
The Martlet missiles have been used both on the Ukrainian front lines and in Royal Navy operations in the Red Sea. According to a DE&S press release, the UK has previously donated hundreds to Ukraine.
The London-supplied missiles have made a “significant contribution to Ukraine’s ability to defend its homeland”, DE&S CEO Andy Start told reporters. They were previously reported to have been used by the Ukrainian military against Russian Shahed kamikaze drones in an attack on the capital last year.
Each weighs 13 kilograms (28.6 pounds) and can provide protection against air attacks such as drones and helicopters, as well as against maritime targets in an air-to-ship role.
In 2021, these munitions were fired for the first time from a Wildcat helicopter in the Bay of Bengal, the northeastern Indian Ocean, during the deployment of the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group.
More recently, they have been deployed on maritime missions as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect commercial shipping from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
“This is part of the UK’s commitment to continue investing in the missile and maintaining production levels, and our wider munitions strategy,” Start said.