BOLTON missile-maker MBDA has won the prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise in the innovation category.

It has scooped the gong for developing the Brimstone radar guided anti-armour missile.

The converted weapon becomes the Dual Mode Brimstone and is regarded as a great British success story by defence industry experts.

According to MBDA, it has been accomplished through a combination of technical advances, cost effectiveness and the re-use of existing Brimstone missiles already in the the Royal Air Force (RAF) inventory.

MBDA’s executive group director technical and managing director UK, Steve Wadey said: “As the highest business award in the UK, an accolade of this significance and recognition is a tremendous achievement and one that we take huge pride in.

“The technology at the heart of Dual Mode Brimstone is truly world beating and is symbolic of the difference innovation can make for our customers and the crucial role MBDA products have in delivering enhanced military effectiveness.”

The innovation was achieved at a fraction of the cost of procuring a new weapon system and in significantly reduced timescales.

The system was available when most needed by the RAF as MBDA were able to replenish stocks quickly during simultaneous military operations in Libya and Afghanistan because it is a UK-sourced weapon and MBDA had a surge production capability.