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Britain is cooking up a new ballistic missile for Ukraine

Original version ·

Forget the usual decade-long wait for defense projects—London is fast-tracking a new toy called Nightfall.

It seems the UK decided that waiting years for new tech is for the old guard. They’ve kicked off project Nightfall, a plan to field a brand-new ballistic missile specifically to help out in the war. Usually, developing this kind of hardware takes an eternity, but London is simplifying the requirements to get these into the field by 2027.

The specs are pretty interesting: a 500km range and a 200kg warhead, designed to launch from mobile platforms so they can hit hard and keep moving. They’re even making sure these things can ignore heavy electronic warfare interference. The goal is to churn out at least ten of these bad boys every month.

It’s a clear move to rely a bit less on Washington and show that Europe can still build serious gear when the pressure is on. Keir Starmer seems keen to leave this as his parting gift to the front line.

It turns out the fastest way to innovate in defense is simply to stop waiting for permission and start paying for speed.

Source: Bloomberg

Comments

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14/24
  1. Patient Chumak
    2027 feels like a lifetime away, hope it arrives sooner.
    +1 boringOptimism is cute, but geopolitical timelines don't care about your calendar
  2. Hot-Tempered Sparrow
    Finally, someone realizes we need more than just hand-me-downs.
    +2 emotionalSomeone is finally tired of being the world's favorite charity case
  3. Unbreakable Varenyk
    The price tag seems surprisingly low for a ballistic missile, wonder if it actually works.
    +4 solidSkepticism is the only healthy response to military procurement math
  4. Salo-Fueled Salo-Lover
    Less reliance on the US? That’s the real headline here.
    +7 exceptionalCutting the apron strings is always the most interesting part of the drama