U.K., France join forces for new anti-ship weapon

March 28 (UPI) -- Britain and France have inked an agreement to share the the cost of a new cruise missile program lead by MBDA Missile Systems.

Under the terms of the pact, signed by British Defense Minister Harriett Baldwin and French counterpart Laurent Collet-Billon, each country will contribute roughly $62 million for the Future Cruise / Anti-Ship Weapon program.

"We are launching today a major new phase in our bilateral cooperation, by planning together a generation of missiles, successor to the Harpoon, SCALP and Storm Shadow," Collet-Billon explained.

The project will begin with a three-year concept development phase. According to MBDA, the effort will result in new capabilities allowing each armed force to perform enhanced anti-ship and deep-strike missions.

During the signing, the defense ministers said sharing the costs will benefit both allied countries by strengthening their collective defense.

"Our relationship with France is strong and enduring. We have a long history of cooperation in defense and security with our European ally," Baldwin said.

The event comes roughly one month after MBDA, France and the U.K. forged a similar agreement to upgrade existing air-launched, long-range Storm Shadow missiles. The missile is built to target large enemy assets such as military facilities and other strategic structures.