(LONDON, UK) – Britain has restarted production of hypersonic target vehicles after a pause of more than ten years, moving to equip its armed forces with the tools needed to train against the growing threat of advanced Russian missile systems. The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract worth GBP 20 million, equivalent to roughly USD 25.5 million or EUR 23.4 million, with Lockheed Martin UK to build the high speed targets. A first test flight is planned for 2027.
The programme will end the United Kingdom’s reliance on allied nations for training against hypersonic and ballistic missile threats. Work will be carried out at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. The new targets will allow Royal Navy and British Army air defence crews to rehearse intercepts of weapons that travel at several times the speed of sound, a capability gap that defence planners have sought to close as the character of modern conflict has shifted.
Defence analysts point to the increasing use of ballistic and hypersonic weapons in active war zones. Russia has fired its Iskander M short range ballistic missile, along with its air launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal and ship launched 3M22 Tsirkon hypersonic missiles, against targets in Ukraine. Iran has also employed ballistic missiles during its conflicts with the United States, Israel and Gulf states. These operations have shown that even highly automated air defence systems require well trained crews to position launchers effectively, manage interceptor inventories and coordinate responses across different platforms.
Britain currently lacks land based systems capable of defeating ballistic and hypersonic threats. The mission rests solely with the Royal Navy. The service’s Type 45 destroyers are armed with Aster 30 naval air defence missiles, which are being upgraded to the B1NT standard to improve their capability against manoeuvring targets. The Ministry of Defence is also examining the installation of Mk 41 vertical launch systems on its warships, a move that would allow them to fire SM-3, SM-6 and PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors.
Alongside the naval upgrades, the British Army is expanding its arsenal of Sky Sabre medium range ground based air defence systems. New launcher deliveries are due to begin in 2027, the same year the first hypersonic target is expected to fly. The parallel investments signal a broader push to strengthen the United Kingdom’s integrated air and missile defence posture at a time when the threat from fast, manoeuvring stand off weapons continues to grow.
The GBP 20 million target contract with Lockheed Martin UK forms part of a wider Ministry of Defence effort to regenerate industrial capacity for high speed flight testing. Britain has not produced a hypersonic target vehicle domestically since the early 2010s. The return of this manufacturing capability is intended to provide a secure supply of threat representative targets for regular live fire training exercises, reducing scheduling and availability risks that come with relying on overseas partners.
Industry sources indicate that the target vehicle will replicate the flight profile of weapons such as the Kinzhal and Tsirkon, giving Royal Navy crews realistic engagement scenarios. The ability to simulate these threats at sea and on land ranges is seen as essential for validating the performance of the Aster 30 B1NT interceptor and any future systems that may be fielded under the Mk 41 programme.