Astrium has been selected by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to define the first step of the systems architecture for its territorial ballistic missile defence programme.

The contract follows on from the decision taken at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010 to provide NATO with an additional capability to protect Europe. The contract involves defining within a year the requirements to expand the existing theatre missile defence into a territory ballistic missile defence.

NATO signed this initial contract under its territorial missile defence programme on 20 September 2011 with a consortium led by the American company SAIC. The contract is worth €2.5 million.

Astrium, the European leader in space systems and technologies, is a member of the industry team selected by NATO to implement the initial definition phase of its ballistic missile programme.

Astrium has been a key player in NATO’s ballistic missile defence programme since July 2001. The company is uniquely qualified for this role by virtue of its long experience and unrivalled expertise in the field of ballistic missile warfare in Europe, both as prime contractor for the ballistic missiles deployed by the French deterrent forces and through its space rendezvous knowhow acquired in connection with the ATV space cargo vessel.

In anticipation of future operational requirements, Astrium has developed a family of exoatmospheric interceptors, named Exoguard, in an effort to advance technological research in a wide range of analysis techniques, from threat evaluation and weapon assignment to detailed modelling and simulation and vector and interception vehicle architectures.

EADS press release