4 SPEAR 3 missiles have been carried on board an F-35B from the Built-in Take a look at Pressure at NAS Patuxent River earlier this 12 months, marking the primary time that the brand new weapon has flown on the fifth era plane.
The lengthy awaited information of SPEAR 3’s first flight check on the F-35B – which came about on Jan. 20, 2026 – comes simply days after the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed plans to accumulate the GBU-53/B StormBreaker, or SDB II, as an interim functionality attributable to delays with SPEAR 3’s integration. SPEAR 3, developed by MBDA UK, is a 100 kg class munition with a spread in extra of 140 km.
Delays with SPEAR 3’s integration have been sharply criticized by the UK’s Nationwide Audit Workplace (NAO). With out the weapon, the UK F-35B power’s strike functionality is restricted to solely the succesful however comparatively brief vary Paveway IV guided bomb (which was developed underneath the SPEAR 1, or Selective Precision Results At Vary Functionality 1, program).
In addition to the UK’s F-35Bs, that are operated as a joint power by the Royal Air Pressure and the Royal Navy, SPEAR 3 can also be slated to be used by Italy.
Picture of an F-35, seen right here with a SPEAR 3 air-to-surface mini cruise missile within the foreground pic.twitter.com/P47iM4QV4M
— Suppose Defence (@thinkdefence) April 6, 2025
The check flight was flown by Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Nick Baker, who beforehand made headlines as the primary British pilot to land an F-35B on board a Japanese warship. Baker is presently assigned to the Royal Air Pressure’s Air and House Warfare Centre analysis and improvement unit, from which he has been deployed to help the F-35 Built-in Take a look at Pressure unit at Patuxent River (also referred to as Pax River).
RN F-35B pilot Nick Baker has been serving to the @jmsdf_pao_eng enter the Lightning period.⚡
He’s a check pilot with the US-led crew conducting pioneering trials on the Japanese flagship Kaga. 🇬🇧 🇯🇵 🇺🇸
— Royal Navy (@RoyalNavy) January 21, 2025
“As a crew, we have now been working arduous towards this key milestone, and I’m proud to say SPEAR 3 has now flown on F-35B,” stated RAF Corporal Daniel Housden, who has been carefully concerned within the check program. “I look ahead to persevering with with testing on the F-35 ITF and beginning preparations for the primary ejections.”
“A lot of this effort is owed to the excellent work of the mixed UK authorities and trade weapons crew, U.S. authorities and trade companions,” stated Dan Shelton, F-35 Joint Program Workplace (JPO) UK/Italy weapons integration program supervisor. “The crew’s distinctive collaboration was important in navigating the complexities of this program, permitting us to work via each problem and ship outcomes.”
Future trials will see the weapon’s integration into the F-35’s mission techniques, culminating within the first SPEAR 3 weapon drops from the F-35B. Dwell fireplace trials from Storm FGR4 plane, additionally attributable to carry the weapon, have been in progress for a while.
Fascinating timing as the discharge of the UK’s Defence Funding Plan looms, and after the latest announcement of an interim repair utilizing the Small Diameter Bomb. Sadly, the timeline for SPEAR 3 remains to be years away.
— Greg Bagwell (@gregbagwell) Could 22, 2026
Full service entry on the F-35B is predicted within the early 2030s.
SPEAR 3
SPEAR 3’s lengthy street to the frontline started within the mid 2010s, with the number of MBDA’s proposal to satisfy the calls for of the SPEAR 3 undertaking. The missile is definitely branded by MBDA merely as SPEAR, though it’s generally often called SPEAR 3 to distinguish it from the opposite SPEAR tasks.
SPEAR 1, as said beforehand, noticed the event of the Paveway IV. SPEAR 2 spawned upgrades to MBDA’s smaller Brimstone missile. SPEAR 4 entails upgrades to Storm Shadow, whereas SPEAR 5 has now developed into the STRATUS missile program.
ORCHESTRIKE, MBDA’s synthetic intelligence for collabotive strikes, might be discovered on each SPEAR 3 and STRATUS LO (ex TP15, the subsonic stand off missile of the Future Cruise Anti Ship Weapon programme), a written reply confirms. pic.twitter.com/l5S8WGjIi8
— Gabriele Molinelli (@Gabriel64869839) September 19, 2025
Eight SPEAR 3 missiles will be capable to be carried internally on the F-35B. Exterior carry ought to, in principle, be doable, however doesn’t seem like a spotlight of the present integration course of. Even with simply the inner load of eight, an F-35B would be capable to carry extra weapons than it presently may even with a full combined inside and exterior load of Paveway IVs.
MBDA can also be engaged on variants of SPEAR 3, together with SPEAR-EW – particularly tailor-made to the suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) mission with addition of an digital warfare (EW) payload instead of the warhead. SPEAR-EW can be utilized in live performance with common SPEAR munitions to disrupt after which destroy hostile air defences.
SPEAR-EW, could have an fascinating future I feel pic.twitter.com/lq6DXQP0yc
— Suppose Defence (@thinkdefence) September 4, 2024
An unpowered glide weapon, often called SPEAR Glide, can also be within the works. By eradicating the turbojet powerplant and its related gasoline, SPEAR Glide sacrifices vary in favor of a bigger warhead able to profitable assaults towards hardened targets.
