MBDA was awarded the 2014 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for its work developing the Brimstone missile. Continuing its spiral upgrade process, MBDA developed an additional guidance mode for the missile – providing it with true dual mode functionality – which was labelled as a Great British success story of innovation and enterprise.
Brimstone provides crews with a world-beating, low-collateral, precision strike capability, including use in cluttered urban environments where surgical accuracy is paramount. Described as ‘the Swiss army knife of available weaponry’, there is nothing that compares to Brimstone in-service in the world today.
MBDA was presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise as its innovation stretched beyond solely technological advancements. Upgrades were achieved without significantly increasing the complexity of its existing seeker, thereby enabling existing stock of the original Brimstone weapon to be upgraded. This was achieved at a fraction of the cost of procuring a new system and significantly reduced timescales. The system was available when most needed by the RAF, as MBDA was able to replenish stocks quickly during simultaneous military operations in Libya and Afghanistan through its surge production capability.
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious business awards, designed to promote business excellence and drive growth. The awards are bestowed by HM The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister as this is a Royal Scheme that was instituted by a Royal Warrant in 1996. The Prime Minister is supported by an advisory committee which is chaired by the Head of the Civil Service and comprises representatives of government, the private sector and trade unions.
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