The companies announced the agreement at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026. GA-ASI President David R. Alexander and MBDA UK Managing Director Chris Allam signed the memorandum.
The work is intended to ensure both aircraft can carry and employ SPEAR weapons. It gives MBDA’s miniature cruise missile a wider path into remotely piloted and collaborative combat aircraft.
The agreement builds on earlier cooperation between the two companies. That work included integration of MBDA’s Brimstone missile on the UK Royal Air Force’s Protector RG Mk1, the RAF version of MQ-9B.
“We’ve built an excellent business relationship with MBDA as part of the integration of the Brimstone missile onto the UK’s Protector,” said Alexander. “So, working with MBDA to enable SPEAR on our broader MQ-9B line, and our Gambit CCA, feels like a very natural extension of our partnership.”
SPEAR is MBDA’s miniature cruise missile and a next-generation air-launched surface attack weapon. It is designed to provide a low-collateral-damage precision effect while allowing high weapon load-outs for longer mission persistence.
The weapon is built to reach beyond the horizon. MBDA says that allows launch aircraft to remain outside hostile air defences while retaining engagement capability across a broad threat set.
“The consolidation of MBDA’s relationship with GA-ASI is a testament to the strength of our long history of cooperation, most recently with Brimstone and Protector,” said Allam. “Remotely piloted aircraft and autonomous/collaborative platforms, such as MQ-9B and Gambit, are revolutionizing modern air combat.”
“Integrating the innovative capability of SPEAR multiplies the effect these platforms provide into decisive operational advantage,” Allam said. The companies said the pairing of existing aircraft with newer weapons could create a relevant and quick-to-field capability for global militaries.
MQ-9B is GA-ASI’s long-range, high-endurance platform. It is in operation or on order by close to a dozen nations, including the UK, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and Poland.
Gambit 6 is an uncrewed combat aircraft optimised for attack missions. Its intended roles include electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defences, destruction of enemy air defences and stand-off precision strike.
For MBDA, the agreement supports a broader effort to place SPEAR on more platforms. For GA-ASI, it adds another potential weapons option to aircraft aimed at allies seeking persistent, uncrewed strike and support capabilities.
