European multi-nation conglomerate MBDA is offering its Dual Mode Brimstone (DMB) advanced multi-role close air support missile to the United States and United Kingdom as options for weaponizing large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), according to an industry source.
The industry source said Tuesday at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) conference in Washington that the United States and United Kingdom are looking to reduce collateral damage in combat theaters like Yemen and MBDA believes it has the solution.
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| Artist’s rendering of MBDA’s Dual Mode Brimstone missile. Photo: MBDA. |
“We are currently offering this not only to the U.S. Air Force but also U.S. Navy and other services and not only for unmanned platforms but also manned platforms,” the source said. “Although we have not come under contract at this time, we believe there is great interest by the services to leverage technology that will reduce collateral damage in the current fight off of large UAVs.”
DMB has been deployed in Afghanistan and Libya by the U.K.’s Royal Air Force, according to MBDA.
General Atomics is a well-known developer of large UAVs like its MQ-9 Reaper and its larger, more heavily-armed MQ-1 Predator. A comparable missile to DMB is Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Hellfire II.
DMB provides a low collateral damage, close air support capability that enables pilots to engage in a wide range of target types, including fast moving vehicles and vessels both over land and at sea, according to MBDA. The “dual modes” in DMB are semi-active laser-only guidance or initial semi-active laser with end-game millimeter wave radar guidance for fast moving and maneuvering targets.
The source said the difference between DMB and its competitors is the millimeter wave radar, which directs the missile to the target, as opposed to missiles with only semi-active lasers, which can be prone to inaccuracy against mobile targets.
“The misses against high-speed targets means that there are a requirement to shoot many missiles in that single (laser) mode and it results in fragmentation and potentially civilian casualties,” the source said.