LONDON -- BMT has unveiled ELLIDA STRIKE, a new concept for a littoral strike vessel. The design aims to align with the Royal Navy’s future needs for a versatile and adaptable fleet, drawing on requirements for the service's planned amphibious fleet recapitalization.

The ELLIDA STRIKE concept demonstrates how modern design can address complex operational requirements, from humanitarian aid to combat. The vessel is designed for rapid reconfiguration for specific missions, using containerized pods for roles like medical support, logistics, or combat.

The design also includes long-range precision missile systems to increase the fleet's operational reach. It can launch and recover both crewed and uncrewed rotary aircraft, and a well deck allows for the launch and recovery of landing craft and autonomous vessels. An integrated digital system supports advanced command and control, while the layout focuses on improving living and working conditions for the crew.

Source: Forecast International
Associated URL: https://www.bmt.org/

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Sebastien Lecornu as the country’s new prime minister, following the collapse of Francois Bayrou’s government earlier this week.

Macron announced Lecornu’s appointment on Tuesday, one day after Bayrou lost a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly. Lecornu, who served as Minister of Armed Forces since 2022, will now become the seventh prime minister of Macron’s presidency.

Lecornu will be immediately tasked with negotiating support with lawmakers over the national budget for the upcoming year, the French presidency said in a statement. The Bayrou government had proposed EUR44 billion in savings through budget cuts for 2026, prompting a backlash from other political parties.

Bayou’s minority government had only been in place since December, having succeeded Michel Barnier after the latter’s own loss in a vote of no confidence.

France faces a high debt burden of around 116 percent of GDP, and has been running annual deficits of well over 5 percent.

Source: AP
Associated URL: https://apnews.com/article/france-macron-prime-minister-sebastien-lecornu-94d75e375872cc3b28de03b4f192388c

PARIS - On 10 September on the MBDA booth at DSEI UK 2025, U.K. Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry, Luke Pollard MP and Armament General Engineer Gaël Diaz De Tuesta of France's DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement) unveiled STRATUS as the new name for FC/ASW.

The unveiling took place at a model of the brand new design for STRATUS LO (Low Observable) - formerly known as TP15 - and a model for STRATUS RS (Rapid Strike) - formerly known as RJ10 - highlighting the significant progress of the program.

Through one program, MBDA is developing two complementary, adaptable and interoperable missiles that will deliver decisive capabilities for deep strike, anti-ship, suppression & destruction of enemy air defences and defeat of high value assets.

The missiles are for use across the air, sea and land domains, from multiple platforms, and are able to operate in denied areas. Together, they combine the survivability benefits of high speed/manoeuvrability and low observability needed for optimal flexibility and performance in tomorrow's contested battlespace and high intensity conflicts.

Eric Beranger, CEO of MBDA, said: "These new advances on STRATUS are the result of France, U.K. and Italy's strong commitment to develop Europe's present and future critical capabilities. Maturing such a large portfolio of technologies in such a short amount of time has required a massive effort between the nations, and has again demonstrated the value of the MBDA cooperation model. MBDA will continue to deliver on the next phase, bringing together France, the UK and Italy to meet the armed forces needs and protect European citizens for the years to come."

MBDA continue at pace for the next phase of the programme. The successful conclusion of the programme's Assessment Phase endorsed the maturity of the advanced technologies and systems required to launch the full Development Phase.

STRATUS is leveraging the full strength of MBDA co-operative DNA with more than 750 engineers working on the programme across the Group.

Source: MBDA
Associated URL: https://www.mbda-systems.com/mbda-unveils-stratus-future-cruise-and-anti-ship-capabilities