MBDA reveals Future Cruise & Anti-Ship Missile to deliver deep strike and penetrate advanced defenses.

At Le Bourget 2025, MBDA displays for the first time a scale model of the Future Cruise / Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW), including the TP15 and the RJ10. This public debut at the Paris Air Show represents a significant leap in the European missile maker’s ambition to deliver next-generation strike capabilities through a trilateral effort between France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Designed to outmatch current and emerging threats, the FC/ASW program focuses on achieving operational superiority in Anti-Surface Warfare, Deep Precision Strike, and Counter-A2AD missions in heavily contested environments.
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MBDA presents scale models of the Future Cruise / Anti-Ship Missiles FCA/SW, including TP15 and RJ10 missiles, at the Paris Air Show 2025. (Picture source: Army Recognition Group)

The TP15 is a subsonic, ultra-low observable cruise missile optimized for deep precision strikes against hardened land targets such as command posts, airbases, and critical infrastructure. Its design prioritizes stealth through reduced radar cross-section shaping and composite materials. The TP15 is equipped with an advanced imaging infrared seeker that provides high target discrimination and terminal accuracy in complex electromagnetic environments. It uses a state-of-the-art turbojet engine co-developed by Rolls-Royce and Safran, ensuring extended range and sustained low-altitude flight profiles that minimize detection. Its mission is to penetrate the most heavily defended areas to neutralize high-value targets with minimal warning and reaction time.

The RJ10, by contrast, is a supersonic missile specifically engineered for maritime superiority and counter-air defense operations. Designed for high-speed engagements, it features a solid-fueled ramjet propulsion system developed by Bayern-Chemie, enabling sustained supersonic flight and aggressive maneuverability throughout its flight envelope. The RJ10 integrates a next-generation radiofrequency seeker developed by Thales and MBDA UK, providing long-range target acquisition and resistance to electronic countermeasures. With its high kinetic energy and terminal maneuverability, the RJ10 is tailored for rapid neutralization of surface combatants and integrated air defense assets, even in scenarios involving dense electronic warfare.

These two complementary missiles were developed in direct response to emerging operational demands faced by European armed forces. As adversaries increasingly deploy sophisticated multi-layered air defense systems and long-range anti-access/area denial (A2AD) networks, traditional munitions have become insufficient to guarantee mission success. FC/ASW answers this need by delivering dual-domain, multi-role strike capabilities, ensuring freedom of action for air and naval assets in denied environments.

MBDA was created more than two decades ago to advance Europe's deep strike capabilities. Its systems like Storm Shadow/SCALP, Meteor, and Aster have already demonstrated immense military utility as both battlefield assets and conventional deterrents. Today, with FC/ASW at the forefront, MBDA is leveraging its multinational DNA to shape the future of sovereign European strike power. The program represents a crucial response to the reemergence of high-intensity conflict in Europe and the growing density of front-line and in-depth air defense systems. Overcoming these challenges requires a new generation of missiles equipped with disruptive technologies capable of being deployed in layered combinations.

To meet the ambitious objectives set by founding nations France and the UK, MBDA has mobilized over 750 engineers and technical experts across both countries. The program is progressing rapidly and is currently finalizing its assessment and risk-reduction phase, which has focused on reducing technical risk and maturing the key subsystems of both missiles. Italy has since joined the program, with full tri-national convergence anticipated in the near future.

This phase has already delivered substantial technical milestones. MBDA has manufactured its first prototype TP15 missile and conducted extensive RF-signature testing in dedicated facilities. Simultaneously, exhaustive wind tunnel testing has been completed on the RJ10’s supersonic propulsion system at MBDA’s Bourges site. Additional tests have been carried out on both missiles’ seekers, warheads, fuzing systems, and engines, confirming the technical maturity and readiness of the program.

These achievements reflect MBDA’s leading role in missile technology and underscore the operational urgency driving the FC/ASW timeline. The TP15 is projected to enter service around 2028, followed by the RJ10 in 2034. As the program enters its demonstration and manufacturing phases, it will provide France, the UK, and Italy with the most advanced and sovereign deep strike capability in Europe, ensuring operational freedom and strategic deterrence for decades to come.