BAE Systems’ BlackThorn multi-role modular warhead has been selected for integration into the Mark I. The decision follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2026, under which the two companies began work on a warhead solution for the missile.
BAE Systems publicly unveiled BlackThorn at the Farnborough International Airshow on 21 July. Frankenburg said the warhead was chosen for its performance in a compact package and its suitability for rapid, cost-efficient mass production.
Frankenburg also agreed at Farnborough to proceed with a five-year Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Roxel UK. The agreement covers rocket motor design, development, integration and supply for Frankenburg’s current and future missile systems.
The companies will assess propulsion systems already available from Roxel. They will also adapt or develop rocket motors where specific Frankenburg missile programmes require different solutions.
Warheads and rocket motors have a direct effect on missile performance, production cost and manufacturing requirements. They also influence how easily a company can scale output and maintain a resilient supply chain.
Frankenburg said addressing both areas early allows technical performance and industrial requirements to be developed together. That approach is central to the company’s plan to manufacture missiles at higher volumes and lower unit costs.
BlackThorn brings BAE Systems’ experience in warhead design, energetic materials, fuzing and high-volume munitions into the Mark I programme. The selection gives Frankenburg access to an established British supplier for one of the missile’s main subsystems.
Roxel UK will provide expertise in solid propulsion, rocket motor design, manufacturing, integration and testing. Those capabilities are based at the company’s Summerfield site in Worcestershire.
The propulsion partnership will allow Frankenburg and Roxel to consider motor performance, production needs and cost alongside the wider missile design. It also gives Frankenburg a longer-term industrial framework for propulsion across more than one missile programme.
The agreements are part of Frankenburg’s broader expansion in the United Kingdom. The company was recently selected by the UK Ministry of Defence under the Low-Cost Air Defence Effectors programme and plans to establish a UK FieldFoundry production site in 2027.
Daniel Hallett, UK Managing Director at Frankenburg Technologies, said the partnerships were intended to support affordable production at scale. “Frankenburg was founded to bring affordability and scale to missile defence. Propulsion and warheads are critical subsystems, central to missile performance and to our ability to produce reliably at high volume.”
Hallett added: “Working with established UK defence industry partners BAE Systems and Roxel UK helps us deliver affordable missile defence for the UK and its allies quickly, at scale and at a price point that enables mass deployment.” The statement puts production economics alongside technical performance as a core part of Frankenburg’s missile strategy.
Scott Jamieson, Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Maritime and Land Defence Solutions, said: “BlackThorn combines decades of expertise in warhead design, energetic materials and fuzing with our proven experience in delivering high-volume munitions to demonstrate a new way of thinking about payloads for a range of platforms that meet the demands of the modern battlefield. This innovation provides an advanced, affordable solution that meets the evolving needs of our customers and delivers multi-role warheads for the next generation of attritable platforms, missiles, autonomous platforms and counter drone capability at pace to stay ahead of emerging threats.”
The BlackThorn agreement links Frankenburg’s missile design to BAE Systems’ existing munitions expertise. It also brings a warhead intended for multiple types of platforms into a programme focused on low-cost air defence.
Adrian Banks, Managing Director of Roxel UK, said: “This agreement reflects our collective ambition to design, develop and produce solid rocket motors to meet the demands of an increasingly challenging sector. Roxel’s strengths in analysis and innovation will support Frankenburg in its aims, as well as provide an ideal application environment for Roxel’s new products such as the HALO family of lightweight, modular, rocket motors.”
Frankenburg’s Mark I is a compact precision-guided air defence missile designed to defeat Class I–III uncrewed aerial systems. The company says the missile is intended to reduce short-range interception costs by more than 10 times.
Mark I measures about 0.65 metres and weighs less than 2 kg. It can be launched from land, maritime and airborne platforms and is designed for localised, high-volume production through Frankenburg’s FieldFoundry model.
The BAE Systems and Roxel agreements place two major missile subsystems within Frankenburg’s UK industrial strategy. They are also intended to support a domestic supply chain for future missile production and expand affordable air defence capacity for the United Kingdom and its allies.
Frankenburg Technologies was founded in 2024 and develops missile systems designed for affordable mass production. The company operates across Europe, including the United Kingdom.
BAE Systems provides defence, aerospace and security systems across land, sea, air, cyber and space and employs around 110,000 people. Roxel is a European tactical propulsion specialist and a wholly owned subsidiary of MBDA, with operations in the United Kingdom and France.
