Five leading European defence companies—Destinus, MBDA Deutschland, Safran Electronics & Defense, Airbus Defence and Space and Thales—have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to establish the Bliksem EXO Consortium, a multinational industrial partnership that will develop Europe’s first sovereign exo-atmospheric interceptor capable of defeating medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

The agreement was signed in Paris during the inaugural meeting of the Anti-Ballistic Coalition, hosted by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in the presence of Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.

Bliksem EXO is designed to intercept ballistic missile threats—including advanced systems such as Russia’s Oreshnik—during the midcourse phase of flight outside the Earth’s atmosphere, using hit-to-kill kinetic interception without an explosive warhead. The programme is intended to fill a major capability gap in European missile defence by providing the currently missing upper-layer interceptor, complementing existing lower-layer and terminal missile defence systems.

The new capability is being developed for full interoperability with NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) architecture and will significantly strengthen the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI).

Under the industrial workshare, Destinus will act as consortium leader and system integrator while developing the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV). MBDA Deutschland will be responsible for the interceptor booster, launcher and canister, Safran Electronics & Defense will develop the EKV seeker and guidance, navigation and control systems, Airbus Defence and Space will provide the command-and-control and battle management (BMC4I) architecture, and Thales will deliver the radar and sensor chain, covering early warning, tracking and fire control.

A distinctive feature of the programme is that its design and operational concepts will incorporate Ukraine’s battlefield experience in countering large-scale missile attacks, subject to applicable export-control and security regulations.

According to the LOI, the partners intend to conclude a legally binding consortium agreement within three months. Joint engineering activities are scheduled to begin in August 2026, while the consortium aims to conduct the first space test of the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) during 2027.

The Bliksem EXO programme represents a significant milestone in Europe’s efforts to establish an independent, technologically advanced upper-layer ballistic missile defence capability and further strengthen the continent’s defence industrial and technological base.