The Ministry of Defence has signed new contracts with Thales in the UK for hundreds more Lightweight Multirole Missiles, an order intended to rebuild stockpiles and support the air defence of British forces in the Middle East, according to the department.

The contracts, announced on 1 June 2026, are worth a combined £36 million. According to the Ministry of Defence, deliveries will begin in the coming months and run through 2026. The most recent agreement was placed by the National Armaments Director Group in May and follows a further order for the same missile in April.

The Lightweight Multirole Missile, known as LMM, is designed and built by Thales at its Belfast facility, where the work supports around 700 jobs. The department said the orders form part of a wider effort, run with the National Armaments Director Group, to strengthen resilience in munitions supply chains so that the UK can sustain operations alongside allies.

The LMM is a lightweight precision-guided weapon developed for use against a range of targets including small aircraft, fast boats and, increasingly, uncrewed systems. It has been adopted across all three British services, and is fired from the Royal Navy’s Wildcat helicopters as well as from ground-based launchers.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the missile has been used to defeat drone attacks in the Middle East, with more than 100 drones shot down using the weapon, including by RAF Regiment gunners operating the Rapid Sentry air defence system.

Defence Secretary John Healey described the orders as the government’s industrial partnership with the defence sector in practice. “Our UK defence industry is the backbone of our Armed Forces. This is our new partnership with industry in action,” he said. “We’re getting UK-built kit into the hands of our forces faster as we support good skilled jobs and drive growth across the UK. These interceptor missiles are battle-proven – successfully used in action by our RAF sharp shooters over recent months.” He added that the missiles would help British forces keep the UK and its partners more secure in the Middle East and beyond.

The contracts come as the UK has increased its military presence across the Middle East, with the Ministry of Defence reporting more than 1,000 personnel deployed in the region, among them fast jet squadrons and specialist counter-drone teams. British air defence assets have also operated from UK bases in Cyprus, where Wildcat helicopters carrying the missile have been used in the defence of bases and allied forces.

The LMM was originally developed for the helicopter-launched role before being adapted for ground and naval launchers, and its growing use against drones reflects a wider shift in air defence priorities. The proliferation of cheap uncrewed aircraft has placed a premium on interceptors that can engage them at low cost relative to larger surface-to-air missiles, and the LMM sits in that category.