
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence signed a contract with MBDA worth nearly $580 million for the Weapon Development Phase of the SPEAR air-to-surface precision strike missile, the company said May 18. The contract work advances MBDA's SPEAR weapon design and builds on technical milestones completed in the early Assessment Phase. The missile is being developed as part of the U.K.'s Selective Precision Effects At Range Capability 3 (SPEAR 3) requirement for the country's F-35 aircraft with an option to also…