Britain's defence ministry has ordered a further 1,000 Starstreak close air defence missiles from Shorts Missile Systems (SMS), bringing the total bought so far to 7,000.
Roy McNulty, chairman of SMS, the joint venture between Britain's Short Brothers and France's Thomson-CSF, welcomed the news at Le Bourget yesterday: "Starstreak's important role with the British Army is once again confirmed by this latest order."
Starstreak comes in shoulder-fired, stand-mounted and armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) versions. The system is undergoing evaluation by the UK and US for use in the air-to-air role from the McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
Six Starstreaks have been fired from the tip station of the Apache's stub wings in phase one of tests; phase two involves integrating the Starstreak's laser beam guidance system with the Apache's Target Acquisition Sight and the helicopter's fire control system.
Source: Flight Daily News