Six new weapons programmes are to be announced today at the Farnborough Air Show in a partnership between industry and the Ministry of Defence designed to protect the "operational sovereignty" of the UK in missile development.

The defence companies MBDA and Thales UK have been awarded contracts to develop the weapons as part of Team Complex Weapons (Team CW), the MoD's co-operative approach to missile purchasing which also involves QinetiQ and Roxel UK, the propulsion company.

Baroness Taylor, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, will today launch the £74 million first stage of an Assessment Phase, worth £250 million in total, to test the Team CW model.

The partnership is designed to move away from the awarding of individual bespoke contracts to a flexible process aimed at producing fewer, more adaptable weapons. It is also intended to retain weapon development in the UK.

Baroness Taylor said: "Team CW will help to maintain the UK's key skills and technologies in missile development and protect our operational sovereignty in this sector for the future."

The new projects include a Loitering Munition programme, to develop a weapon that can hover over a battle zone for several hours before striking a target when it appears, and a 50kg air-to-ground missile for combat aircraft including the Tornado GR4, Eurofighter Typhoon and Apache.

Forging a closer link with industry is also intended to develop weapons specifically targeted to the needs of the Armed Forces.

Steve Wadey, Industrial Chairman of Team CW and Managing Director of MBDA, said: "The prospect of being able to better understand the MoD's capability requirements through this partnering aids both industry and government immeasurably, particularly in terms of effective and efficient future investment and planning decisions."

Despite the focus on these four companies, a statement from Team CW said competition would not be ruled out.

Times Recommends

• Food prices rise 8.3% on soaring fish and meat
• Car sales crash as economy hits skids
• House prices fall but Bank leaves rates on hold