The agreement was signed in Paris on 14 July 2026 during the inaugural meeting of the anti-ballistic coalition at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. The signing took place in the presence of Rob Jetten, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Bliksem EXO is planned as a European upper-layer missile defence system designed to intercept threats above the atmosphere. The companies said it is intended to defeat medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, including Oreshnik-class systems with separating and manoeuvring re-entry vehicles.
The interceptor is designed to engage targets in the midcourse phase through direct kinetic hit-to-kill impact, without an explosive warhead. The programme is intended to complement existing and planned European lower-layer systems, creating a layered missile defence structure with terminal and theatre systems below and Bliksem EXO operating above the atmosphere.
The companies said the system is being designed for full interoperability with NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence and the European Sky Shield Initiative. They said the project addresses a missing upper layer in European missile defence while strengthening Europe’s ability to respond to advanced ballistic threats.
Destinus will serve as consortium lead and prime contractor, with responsibility for system integration and the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle. MBDA Deutschland will be responsible for the interceptor booster, launcher and canister, while Safran Electronics & Defense will provide the kill vehicle seeker and guidance, navigation and control.
Airbus Defence and Space will contribute command and control and battle management capabilities. Thales will provide the radar and sensor chain, from early warning to fire control.
The programme is also expected to draw on Ukraine’s operational experience in countering mass air and missile attacks during system design, testing and evaluation. The companies said this work will be subject to applicable export-control, security and governmental requirements.
Under the Letter of Intent, the parties plan to enter into a binding Consortium Agreement within three months of signature. Joint engineering work is intended to begin in August 2026, and the consortium plans to conduct an Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle test in space in 2027.
The Letter of Intent records the companies’ good-faith intentions and does not create an obligation to procure, supply or fund the system. All activities will be subject to national and European export-control laws, security requirements, intellectual-property arrangements and relevant governmental procedures.
“Today, Ukraine and nine European countries, and multiple European defence companies, launched the anti-ballistic coalition. Bliksem EXO is one of the industrial pillars of this initiative that is led from the Netherlands by Destinus. It brings together leading European defence companies and draws on Ukraine’s unique operational experience. This is how European cooperation becomes real protection against ballistic threats,” said Rob Jetten, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
“Europe has strong lower-layer missile defences, but it still lacks a sovereign European upper layer against medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Bliksem EXO is designed to close that gap through direct hit-to-kill interception above the atmosphere. Joint engineering begins in August 2026, and we intend to test the exo-atmospheric kill vehicle in space in 2027,” said Mikhail Kokorich, Chief Executive Officer of Destinus.
“Today’s agreement on Bliksem EXO marks an important step towards strengthening Europe’s collective defence capabilities through closer cooperation and shared expertise. As Europe’s leading missile systems company, MBDA is proud to contribute its proven engineering excellence, innovation and industrial strength, together with decades of operational experience, to help deliver sovereign, world-class capabilities and reinforce a resilient European defence industrial base,” said Thomas Gottschild, Managing Director of MBDA Deutschland.
“This system will add a crucial complement to Europe’s existing Air and Missile Defence. By contributing our Command-and-Control and Battle Management System, we ensure proven interoperability and scalability with NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence, the ESSI initiative, and other current air/missile defence programmes,” said Michael Schoellhorn, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Defence and Space.
“Hit-to-kill interception above the atmosphere is the most demanding precision task in missile defence. Safran’s seeker and guidance, navigation, and control expertise will give the European kill vehicle the accuracy this mission requires,” said Alexandre Ziegler, Head of the Defence Global Business Unit at Safran Electronics & Defense.
“Against increasingly complex ballistic threats, everything starts with the sensor chain: seeing, tracking, and discriminating targets at extreme ranges. Thales provides this critical backbone of Bliksem EXO,” said Hervé Dammann, Executive Vice-President, Land and Air Systems at Thales.
The consortium said Bliksem EXO is intended to become an industrial pillar of Europe’s emerging anti-ballistic missile effort. The programme brings together missile, space, sensor, guidance and battle-management expertise from several European companies as governments seek a more complete and interoperable missile defence architecture.