MBDA plans to fly a full systems demonstrator of Europe’s Hydis hypersonic interceptor before the end of 2029 as the project competes for funding needed to advance into its second development phase.

Hydis is competing against the Hydef program, coordinated by Spain’s Sistemas de Misiles, for €100 million, or US$112 million, in European funding. Lionel Mazenq, MBDA’s vice president for program incubators, said Nov. 4 that a financing decision was due at the end of the month.

Europe currently lacks the capability to intercept the hypersonic glide vehicles being developed by China and Russia. Hydis and Hydef both received European funding during their initial development, but the European Defence Funds plans to support only one proposal through its 2026 work program.

Mazenq said the Hydis interceptor is intended to counter numerous threats with widely varying behavior. “Today nothing is able to intercept this portfolio of threats, absolutely nothing.”

The Hydis consortium has selected its final concept and is conducting on the ground demonstrations intended to bring technology readiness to level 3 or 4. The commonly used readiness scale contains nine tiers, with the highest representing a completely developed system that has been proven to work.

During the second phase, Hydis is expected to expand from 19 participating companies to 36 industrial and research partners, plus 14 subcontractors. Safran will provide terminal guidance sensors, while Thales, Saab and Leonardo will contribute capabilities including communications and data links.

The current three year phase runs through May 2027 and has received €80 million in European funding. France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands have supplied another €57 million.

Hydis is expected to include 17 countries during its second phase, with 11 member states contributing a combined €133 million on top of European funding. Germany is dropping out as a partner country for that phase, according to briefing documents.

Participating companies will also provide more than €10 million in combined funding. The consortium is preparing fallback options if the European Commission selects Hydef, although Mazenq said, “we are thinking that we will win.”

The second phase is scheduled to run from mid 2027 through mid 2029 and include full scale flight trials. Hydis aims to reach technology readiness levels between 3 and 6 for all functions, followed by a full systems demonstrator before the decade ends.

Interceptor production is scheduled to begin during the first half of the 2030s. France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland will make what Mazenq described as “massive contributions,” while other countries will provide smaller contributions.

The proposed weapon is a four stage interceptor designed to confront hypersonic threats approaching horizontally at medium altitudes and ballistic missiles descending at relatively steep angles. Those ballistic threats would need to be intercepted relatively early in the upper atmosphere.

Partner countries and the European Commission requested one interceptor covering both hypersonic and ballistic missile defense. Mazenq said that requirement creates additional design work, but it would allow operators to stockpile one missile for use against multiple threats.

Mazenq identified China as probably the leading country in hypersonic weapons development, ahead of Russia, and described China’s DF-17 hypersonic glide vehicle as the most advanced currently in service. He warned that Europe must prepare to defend both the continent and forces deployed elsewhere.

Hypersonic glide vehicles present a major interception challenge because they can maneuver between altitudes of 30 and 45 kilometers. A slight turn can shift the projected interception point by tens or hundreds of kilometers, while the combined encounter velocity of the target and interceptor can reach 5 kilometers per second.

Artificial intelligence would run real-time trajectory models after detecting a target, identifying the proper interception location and timing while updating calculations throughout the interceptor’s flight. “This capability is absolutely essential because if you don’t have it, the pressure on the design of the interceptor is such that it’s impossible to do.”

Hydis is intended to operate with a limited number of sensors. It will integrate with the European space based missile early warning capabilities JEWEL and Odin’s Eye, but Mazenq said it must still deliver good performance using only a long range radar.

The interceptor uses a hit-to-kill concept and incorporates technology from existing programs, particularly MBDA’s Aster air defense missile for flight control. Italy’s Avio will provide solid rocket motors, and the system is designed to defeat a hypersonic threat using no more than two interceptors.

Hydis is expected to cost less than one third of an SM-3 missile’s unit price, although Mazenq did not identify a specific SM-3 version. The Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance lists the SM-3 Block 1B at $9.7 million to $12.5 million per intercept and the Block IIA at $27.9 million.

A presentation comparing Hydis with the Aster B1 NT indicated a missile about 7 meters, or 23 feet, long and approximately 30% taller. It will be compatible with shipboard vertical launch systems, including the Mark 41 cell and a future version of Naval Group’s Sylver VLS.

“It’s effectively four-stage with a very high capability of acceleration, because we want to fire it as late as possible, due to the indetermination of the hypersonic threat trajectory,” Mazenq said. “So it’s a bit fat, but it’s a Formula 1. It’s hypersonic, truly hypersonic, not just Mach 5.”