The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is progressing plans to purchase a Medium Range Precision Strike solution, as a Market Interest Day is scheduled for 4 December 2024.

This initiative aims to provide the UK Armed Forces with cutting-edge loitering munition capabilities, as outlined in a Prior Information Notice (PIN) issued in October.

The MRPS system is envisioned to deliver a beyond-visual-line-of-sight precision strike capability with extensive operational versatility. Designed for both land and maritime platforms, the system must achieve a minimum range of 60 km and loiter for at least 40 minutes, transmitting real-time video for target identification.

Additional requirements include:

  • All-weather and day-night operational capabilities.
  • Resilience in contested, degraded, and GPS-denied environments.
  • Ability to engage diverse targets, including armoured vehicles and fast inshore attack craft.
  • Portability and compatibility with existing UK platforms for land, sea, and air deployment.

The MOD plans to procure at least 200 munitions, with initial deliveries expected by 2027, at an estimated programme value of £120 million.

Market Engagement

To refine the programme’s development, the MOD will hold the Market Interest Day in Wiltshire, allowing suppliers to learn more about the project and provide feedback. The event will include a briefing on programme requirements and procurement strategies, followed by a Q&A session.

Suppliers have until 29 November to register, and attendance is limited to three representatives per organisation. For those unable to attend, the MOD will release a Request for Information (RFI) after the event, along with opportunities for one-on-one virtual engagement sessions.

The project’s goals were initially detailed in the October PIN, which highlighted the MOD’s intent to foster innovation through engagement with industry partners. It also stressed the importance of developing systems that could adapt to high-threat environments while delivering precision strikes with minimal collateral damage.

With this latest update, the MOD is signalling its commitment to ensuring that the MRPS programme meets the demands of future conflicts while strengthening the UK’s position as a leader in defence technology. Industry participants interested in contributing to this effort can find additional details and register via the MOD’s procurement portal.

Britain looking to buy hundreds of ‘loitering munitions’

What is a loitering munition anyway?

A loitering munition, also known as a “kamikaze drone” or “suicide drone,” is a type of weapon system designed to hover in the air over a target area for an extended period before striking. It combines features of both drones and missiles, allowing it to search for, identify, and engage targets with precision. Once a target is identified, the munition can dive into it, detonating on impact.

Loitering munitions are equipped with sensors and communication systems to allow operators to monitor and control them in real-time. They can be deployed from land, air, or sea platforms and are particularly useful for missions requiring quick responses to emerging threats. The ability to remain airborne for a set period allows operators to wait for the optimal moment to strike, improving target accuracy and reducing collateral damage.

These systems are often used in situations where traditional missile or artillery strikes would be less effective. The loitering capability ensures that the munition can be recalled or re-targeted if the original target is no longer viable, providing more flexibility than conventional munitions. Loitering munitions are typically smaller than traditional missiles, making them easier to transport and deploy in various environments.

Loitering munitions are increasingly being integrated into modern forces due to their cost-effectiveness and precision. They are particularly effective against time-sensitive or mobile targets, such as vehicles or personnel, and are used in a range of conflict scenarios, from asymmetrical warfare to conventional military engagements.

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George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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38 COMMENTS

  1. Will be interesting to see what come out of this and when, it looks focused at the moment but let’s hope it doesn’t get embroiled in red tape, complexity and muddled aims and priorities.

    • Didn’t we have something like this on the cards some 10 or so years ago, called Dragon something or another? Which obviously got canned due to finances…..

        • Think it might have been Theresa May’s regime that cancelled it.

          Wiki: ‘The first complete test firing (a test of flight, navigation and control systems) took place on 21 November 2010 at Vidsel, Sweden, followed by a second on 13 May 2011. Operator training started in 2011, with the first deliveries of production systems in March 2012. It was planned that 39th Regiment Royal Artillery would be the first unit to receive the system and would deploy it operationally in Afghanistan by 2012. This plan, however, never materialised.

          In 2013, the National Audit Office (NAO) reported in its 2013 Major Projects Report that after spending £207 million, the Ministry of Defence had yet to decide on a future for the project.However, Fire Shadow was listed in the National Audit Office’s 2014 Major Projects Report as being among the eleven largest equipment projects where the Ministry of Defence has taken the main decision to invest.After a period in ‘limbo’ Fire Shadow was cancelled in the UK’s 2017-2018 defence budget‘.

          • Concept was fantastic end product was terrible, I worked on it for a year when I was 39. Lost coms = self destuct, . 4 out of 7 failed because of this.you could hear the motor from miles away. at the time they were priced at more than an MLRS round. Deployments took nearly an hour from the back of a trailer you couldn’t go more than 20 MPH on

      • Don’t think vision beyond 5 years or so has ever been one of the MoD’s prime assets. Let’s hope they have finally got the message. That said I guess this sort of thing becoming mainstream over a more niche or specialist capability wasn’t seen by many a decade back. Conflict has a habit of catching planners out.

        • Plans are useless but planning invaluable. Even the vision thing is useful because it creates a framework for agreement for all those things that Ministers aren’t minded to override for political reason. Some things get instant traction whereas for other it might take decades to get the budget. MOD procurement can be a very slow turtle.

      • MBDA Fireshadow….entered service in 2012…actually, technically operational (in the same way EM-2 rifle was), ditched in 2017/18.

        It was a big unit and very capable. Max 100km range from the base station, but could fly for 6 hours. So real range was more like 300nm.

        Wasn’t cheap though….there was some eye watering pricing from sub contractors (the wings from Marshalls of Cambridge were reportedly the same price as a very nice car…).

        I think with the drawdown from Afghanistan, and its lack of re-usability, shot it in the foot…plus they just hadn’t made it at a viable price. Daft really because if it cost more than £50k (and I’m being very generous) anyone in their right mind could see it was overpriced. Less than that, and realistically £10-15k should be doable, then the orders would have flooded in…

        One of the many Royal Artillery advances, like Phoenix, long life barrels, insensitive munitions, 52 cal barrels where UK industry went for high prices and low volumes because it was easy…and ended up with nothing. Add in MoD indecision…

  2. A.I. will make these things proper nightmare terminating machines which don’t need a controller, but that’s in the future.
    For now 200 should be enough to train the Xbox mob to blow stuff up.

    • It’s not in the future, Ukraine is already using AI fully autonomous systems. For a loitering munition that flys AI has already been able to do this for quite some time, it’s a fairly basic problem compared to something like self driving.

        • Well, the associated picture is of a lancet drone (publicity shot, 2022 probably) which switch to autonomous in the final attack phase. According to RT from that era, they use(d) FPGAs from the West. Perun has a video claiming the R&D development cycle for drones over Ukraine is 2 months. One hopes this programme is an attempt to replicate that 2 months cycle rather than the drones.

        • It’s called sakar scout, Ukraine chains it’s been using it since start of the year.

          My I phone can tell me what flower I’m looking at. AI finding a person or tank is a piece of piss by comparison.

        • What they tend to be talking about is man in the loop up to terminal attack. Target is selected on approach and the FPV will then home on that image even if the comms link is lost (which happens when you go at lower levels, in between buildings and trees and near to EW systems on vehicles).

          Not sure its really AI though (like a lot of things called AI…).

    • I like your style. Terminator is rapidly turning from original low budget sci-fi B movie territory to a matter of just how terminal they actually become in reality.

    • The thing is 200 allows them to say they are buying them in the hundreds. Crafty ain’t they? Sooner rather than later we will probably need thousands, which is an awful thought. Russia would do well to quit.

      • That’s exactly it. 200 is about 1 days combat worth if Russia v Ukraine is anything to go on. Spread out over several platforms in various domains, it’s not much at all.

        • These are not FPV class but Lancet class i suppose, that said 200 for 120M£ is hugely expensive even if including support, training.

  5. Seems very expensive and very few potentially being purchased. I find it surprising there isn’t an off the shelf drone we can copy. I’m sure our friends in Ukraine can point us in the right direction…

  7. Yeah, but isn’t this too little too late? The Ukraine war has shown armies are now heavily drone on drone. 200 or so loitering munitions are a drop in the ocean. And whats the cost per unit? Can it match proven models like the lancet? Otherwise its an expensive waste. The mod should be completely revolutionising and changing its whole structure.

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