Press release

MBDA – A tool for Sovereignty



Éric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, today presented the achievements of MBDA in 2021 and the challenges to come in the near future, and declared: “Our mission is crystal clear – to support the sovereignty and peaceful prosperity of our nations by delivering the essential military capabilities that they need. In these troubled times and in such a fast-moving environment, sovereignty and the capacity to adapt are the priorities for our industry. In 2021, MBDA managed to continue to deliver on its mission with great commitment and for this I want to thank the tireless team spirit and resilience of everyone in MBDA. Now more than ever, we see how vital defence is for our society”.

Major new domestic contracts signed during 2021 included: the development of the SAMP/T NG system for France and Italy; the mid-life refresh of Aster missiles for the UK and Italy; the FC/ASW assessment phase for France and the UK; MICA NG production in France and Mistral 3 for Spain. Major export orders during 2021 included the weapon package for Greece’s new Rafale aircraft and several naval weapon packages, including those for Canada, Egypt, Brazil, Indonesia and others. The weapon package for the UAE’s new Rafale aircraft will be booked in the financials for 2022.

2021 was once again marked by a strong recruitment trend that saw MBDA hire 1,100 new employees across Europe, and we plan on hiring 1,500 more this year.

In total, revenues reached €4.2 billion as MBDA ramped up deliveries for customers, splitting evenly across domestic and export markets. Order intake also reached a record total of €5.1 billion during 2021. This record order intake caused MBDA’s order backlog to grow further to €17.8 billion.


About MBDA:

MBDA is the only European defence group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air).

With a significant presence in five European countries and within the USA, in 2021 MBDA achieved revenue of 4.2 billion euros with an order book of 17.8 billion euros. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development.

MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25%).