Paris, France. At the inaugural meeting of the anti-ballistic coalition at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Airbus Defence and Space, Destinus, MBDA Deutschland, Safran Electronics & Defense, and Thales on July 14 signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to establish the Bliksem EXO Consortium, a multinational European industrial partnership for the development, qualification, industrial scale production, and support of Bliksem EXO. The signing took place in the presence of Rob Jetten, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Bliksem EXO is conceived as a sovereign European exo-atmospheric interceptor system against medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats, including Oreshnik-class systems with separating and maneuvering re-entry vehicles. It is designed for the upper layer of missile defence: detecting, tracking, and defeating MRBM/IRBM threats in the midcourse phase above the atmosphere through direct kinetic hit-to-kill impact, without an explosive warhead.
This mission complements, rather than competes with, existing and planned European lower-layer capabilities. Together, these systems form a layered European missile defence: terminal and theatre systems below, Bliksem EXO above the atmosphere. The programme is designed for full interoperability with NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) and to strengthen the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) by addressing the currently missing upper layer.
Within the consortium, Destinus serves as Consortium Lead and Prime and is responsible for system integration and the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV); MBDA Deutschland for the interceptor booster, launcher and canister; Safran Electronics & Defense for the EKV seeker and guidance, navigation and control; Airbus Defence and Space for command and control and battle management (BMC4I); and Thales for the radar and sensor chain, from early warning to fire control.
The programme will draw on Ukraine’s operational experience in countering massed air and missile attacks during system design, testing and evaluation, subject to applicable export-control, security and governmental requirements, making Bliksem EXO not only a next-generation capability, but one built for the realities of modern warfare.
Under the LOI, the parties intend to enter into a binding Consortium Agreement within three months of the LOI’s signature. Joint engineering work across the consortium is intended to begin in August 2026, and the consortium plans to conduct an EKV test in space in 2027.
The LOI records the parties’ good-faith intentions and does not create any obligation to procure, supply, or fund the system. All activities will be subject to applicable national and European export-control laws, security requirements, intellectual-property arrangements, and relevant governmental procedures.
Rob Jetten, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
“Today, Ukraine and nine European countries, and multiple European defence companies, launched the anti-ballistic coalition. Bliksem EXO is one of the industrial pillars of this initiative that is led from the Netherlands by Destinus. It brings together leading European defence companies and draws on Ukraine’s unique operational experience. This is how European cooperation becomes real protection against ballistic threats.”
Mikhail Kokorich, Chief Executive Officer, Destinus
“Europe has strong lower-layer missile defences, but it still lacks a sovereign European upper layer against medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Bliksem EXO is designed to close that gap through direct hit-to-kill interception above the atmosphere. Joint engineering begins in August 2026, and we intend to test the exo-atmospheric kill vehicle in space in 2027.”
Thomas Gottschild, Managing Director, MBDA Deutschland
“Today’s agreement on Bliksem EXO marks an important step towards strengthening Europe’s collective defence capabilities through closer cooperation and shared expertise. As Europe’s leading missile systems company, MBDA is proud to contribute its proven engineering excellence, innovation and industrial strength, together with decades of operational experience, to help deliver sovereign, world-class capabilities and reinforce a resilient European defence industrial base.”
Michael Schoellhorn, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus Defence and Space
“This system will add a crucial complement to Europe’s existing Air and Missile Defence. By contributing our Command-and-Control and Battle Management System, we ensure proven interoperability and scalability with NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence, the ESSI initiative, and other current air/missile defence programmes.”
Alexandre Ziegler, Head of the Defence Global Business Unit, Safran Electronics & Defense
“Hit-to-kill interception above the atmosphere is the most demanding precision task in missile defence. Safran’s seeker and guidance, navigation, and control expertise will give the European kill vehicle the accuracy this mission requires.”
Hervé Dammann, Executive Vice-President, Land and Air Systems, Thales
“Against increasingly complex ballistic threats, everything starts with the sensor chain: seeing, tracking, and discriminating targets at extreme ranges. Thales provides this critical backbone of Bliksem EXO.”
