The Fulgur is a very short-range air defence system developed by

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of Missile, missiles and related systems.Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

Origins

The

FIM-92 Stinger The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters and drones as th ...

was approaching the end of its service life in the Italian Armed Forces in the early 2020s. Italy was considering a successor. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine (full scale 2022), with the multiplication of aerial threats with several types of drones, Italy considered that a large quantity of systems was necessary, and launched a programme in collaboration with MBDA.

Programme history

Project unveiled

In 2024, at the

Farnborough Air Show The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...

, MBDA unveiled a new

MANPADS Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters and also used against low-flying cruise missi ...

, a programme that was called ''"VSHORAD"'' (very short range air defence). A mock-up of the missile was presented with the following description: * Supersonic missile * Fire-and-forget interceptor * Sophisticated seeker featuring image processing capabilities * Targets: ** Fighters ** Helicopters ** Small drones * To be integrated on current and future vehicles, with automated turrets (a Leonardo turret for the VLTM 2) * Light and suitable for amphibious and paratrooper troops

Development contract

At the

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (, ''Salon du Bourget'') is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in France. Organized by the French aerospace industry's primary representative body, the ''Groupement des industries frança ...

in June 2025,

signed a contract for its development. The missile's name ''("Fulgur")'' was unveiled. And additional characteristics were unveiled. A goal for its introduction was set for early 2028. And additional characteristics were unveiled: * All-weather capabilities * Integration to the SkyWarden C-UAS system.

Design and production

There is an expected production capacity of at least 1,000 missiles per year. The supply chain and assembly are expected to be done in the following way: * The rocket engine will be supplied by AvioAero. * The seekerwill be designed and produced by MBDA Italy at the Fusaro facility. * The warhead is to be supplied by a third party. If the supplier is European, TDW and Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland could be selected. * The assembly will be made in house, but the facility has yet to be selected. MBDA Sky Warden NNbS detail at ILA-2022

Variants

Planned variants

Two variants have yet been mentioned by MBDA and the Italian Army: * a MANPADS * a vehicle launched variants: ** Leonardo turret ** MBDA SkyWarden C-UAS system.

Potential variants

* Discussions to integrate the missile on the attack helicopter AW249 Fenice.

Operators

Future operators

; : Development contract signed in June 2025.

References

{{Italian Army Artillery Regiments 21st-century surface-to-air missiles Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons Army air defence Guided missiles of Italy