UK MOD awards Lockheed Martin UK hypersonic target contract

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UK MOD hypersonic target contract

Highlights

The UK Ministry of Defence awarded Lockheed Martin UK a £20 million Project Bowline contract to design, manufacture, qualify, and test a hypersonic target by 2027.
Project Bowline will inject £2 million into the supply chain and support 63 jobs in Bedfordshire, with over one-third allocated to UK SMEs.
The programme leverages AUKUS Pillar 2 HyFliTE collaboration with the U.S. and Australia, aiming to rebuild UK hypersonic target capability and enhance allied missile defence efforts.

Contract scope and development timeline

As reported by GOV.UK, the Ministry of Defence has awarded Lockheed Martin UK a £20 million contract under Project Bowline to design, manufacture, qualify and test a hypersonic target through the National Armaments Director Group. The programme is awarded through the MOD’s Science and Technology Oriented Research and Development in Missile Defence, or STORM, contract managed by the UK Missile Defence Centre.

The target vehicle is intended to represent high-speed threats travelling above Mach 5, giving the UK and its partners a platform to support development and testing of next-generation missile defence systems. The programme is due to culminate in a first flight demonstration in 2027, supporting future assessment of sensors and interceptors.

National Armaments Director Rupert Pearce says Project Bowline helps the UK respond to rapidly evolving hypersonic threats while deepening work with AUKUS partners. The initiative also marks the MOD’s return to hypersonic target development after more than a decade, rebuilding sovereign capability in advanced targets.

Defence industry and allied impact

The contract supports about 63 jobs in Bedfordshire and is expected to inject £2 million into the supply chain, with more than one-third going directly to UK small and medium-sized enterprises. The programme also aims to strengthen domestic expertise in modelling, manufacturing and testing across industry and academia.

Project Bowline builds on the AUKUS Pillar 2 Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation, or HyFliTE, arrangement, under which the UK, the U.S. and Australia are working together on hypersonic and counter-hypersonic technologies. The U.S. and Australia are set to contribute flight-test and research expertise as well as technical peer review.

Lockheed Martin UK Chief Executive Paul Livingston says the contract highlights collaboration between government, UK industry and international partners through the UK Missile Defence Centre. For the UK defence sector, the programme reinforces investment in sovereign missile defence capability while supporting wider economic activity through advanced manufacturing.

In our earlier article on Germany’s planned federal investment vehicle for defence-focused startups and scale-ups, we explained how Berlin wants to take direct stakes in early-stage companies with clear military applications to speed up capability development. We also noted that the move is part of a broader push to rebuild European defence capacity and close funding gaps by mobilising more public and private capital for security and defence innovation.

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