Hypersonic missile named after fastest shark in the seas could be built in UK

Lockheed Martin says it is willing to develop new weapons in Britain

The US defence giant Lockheed Martin has said it is prepared to choose the UK as the location to develop a jet-fired hypersonic missile before making it in America.
The company pointed to the Mako, a prototype, manoeuvrable missile named after the fastest shark in the seas, as an example of the type of versatile weapon it is willing to pioneer with the UK.
It is capable of reaching speeds exceeding Mach 5 and was designed to be fired from fighters such as the F-35 stealth jet, used by the Royal Navy, on missions such as air-to-sea strikes, anti-air defence strikes and other air-to-ground strikes.
Developing this type of advanced weapon outside the US, which helped to fund the initial work on Mako, would be a departure from the norm for Lockheed.
But Tim Cahill, president for missiles and fire control at Lockheed, said such technology-sharing was now possible under the Aukus agreement – between the UK, US and Australia – and would help each nation pick priorities for defence spending at a time of constrained budgets.
Speaking to The Telegraph at the Farnborough International Airshow, he said: “I think Mako is a great example, because it’s a multi mission missile that we could use a hypersonic version of that’s got good range and good speed and good compatibility with a number of platforms.
“These are places where the UK could clearly contribute and become the master.”
His comments come as the new Labour Government is carrying out a major defence review that will recommend the capabilities Britain should aim for, and potentially those it should axe.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has previously said it is seeking to develop a sovereign hypersonic missile capability by 2030 and is working with around 90 companies to evaluate options.
Mr Cahill argued that the UK should find “gaps” in capability that need to be plugged and that Lockheed was willing to bring development of a Mako-style hypersonic missile to the UK as part of those efforts.
This would include partnering with British companies on production and the supply chain. 
He added: “Resources are stretched in all our countries. If the UK can bring that investment and focus, that’ll be something Australia and the United States don’t have to do – they’ll put their focus somewhere else but everybody gets better.
“With Aukus, there’s an openness to moving technology and advancing so you become the best.
“Each country will make their own decisions. But it doesn’t have to just be ‘buy from the United States’ or ‘build up some capability from scratch’.
“The world has changed. Aukus is new and you see us talking openly about co-production around the world with the blessing and support of the United States government.
“So we can do these things, it doesn’t have to be the old model.”
The Aukus agreement, which was signed by the governments of the UK, US and Australia, was originally drawn up to share sensitive technology for nuclear-powered submarines amid a growing threat from China in the Pacific.
However, “pillar 2” of the deal is also seen by defence experts as hugely important because it covers technology-sharing in cutting edge areas such as hypersonic weapons and quantum computing.
Hypersonic missiles, which operate at significantly faster speeds than standard cruise missiles, have the ability to evade an opponent’s air defences by travelling at more than 4,000 miles per hour and manoeuvring in mid-flight.
The US has already tested some hypersonic missiles, which it says is vital to keep pace with missile technology in Russia and China. Both of the latter claim to have developed similar technology.
Since late last year, the MoD has also been running a consortium of around 80 companies to come up with possible designs for a British missile.
This project, revealed by The Telegraph, is currently being managed directly by MoD headquarters in Whitehall, rather than by one of the three armed services and has been described as a “national mission”.
However, the tight timescales – a deadline of 2030 – may make it more likely that the MoD will seek to partner with a company such as Lockheed that has already spent years on design work.
Lockheed’s Mako missile has been under development for the past seven years and received funding from the US Air Force, but has not yet been ordered by the Pentagon.
It lost out to a rival in the US Stand-In Attack Weapon (SiAW) programme last year. That programme sought to field an air-launched weapon to counter air defence platforms, surface to air missiles and anti-ship missile launchers.
The MoD was contacted for comment.