SPEAR 3 flies on F-35B for first time

An F-35B carrying four SPEAR 3 precision-guided munitions in one of its two internal weapons bays during trials earlier in 2026. The UK is set to field the combination in the early 2030s. (F‑35 ITF/Lockheed Martin)

The MBDA Selective Precision Effects At Range (SPEAR) 3 precision-strike missile has for the first time been flown aboard the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II combat aircraft.

A US Marine Corps (USMC) jet flown “earlier this year” by UK Royal Air Force (RAF) and UK Royal Navy (RN) pilots carried four of the missiles in one of its two internal weapons bays during trials by the F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, the Joint Program Office (JPO) said on 21 May 2026.

“SPEAR 3 is central to the UK's future precision strike capability. It is designed to provide an advanced, network-centric weapon system that will become the UK [Ministry of Defence's] MoD's primary air-launched precision-effects surface-attack weapon,” the JPO said, adding, “The system meets the persistent demand for precision strike weapons capable of operating in all conditions, resisting intensive countermeasures, and engaging moving and manoeuvring targets.”

As noted in the announcement, the flight tests were conducted by specialists from the JPO, UK MoD, and industry partners including Lockheed Martin and MBDA. “Data collected was analysed, and test team members prepared for future testing for the first mission systems integration and jettison trials, the next critical milestones for SPEAR 3 integration on the F-35,” the JPO said. SPEAR 3 first flew aboard a Eurofighter Typhoon testbed in November 2024 in preparation for this F-35B first flight milestone.