Six European NATO members have signed an agreement to jointly develop and produce a new long-range, low-cost strike system unofficially dubbed One Way Effector 500 Plus (OWE 500+). The deal was announced during a meeting of NATO defense ministers and is framed as part of Europeєs broader push to strengthen its autonomous strike capabilities.
The project will be implemented under the ELSA (European Long Range Strike Approach) framework, bringing together Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, and Sweden. According to the German outlet Hartpunkt, the initial phase will focus on rapidly assessing the feasibility of the concept. If approved, production is expected to be distributed across several countries to accelerate scaling and ensure resilience in case of disruptions at individual facilities.
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OWE 500+ system is described as a loitering munition, though early illustrations reportedly showed Crossbow cruise missile developed by MBDA. Regardless of classification, the concept centers on an affordable long-range strike system with a range of up to 500 kilometers and a warhead of up to 50 kilograms. Crucially, the unit price is expected to remain in the five-digit euro range, under €100,000, a threshold that would make it significantly cheaper than most conventional cruise missiles.
To reduce costs, developers are reportedly considering the integration of standard 155-mm artillery shells as warheads. Such an approach would align with the "cheap and scalable" philosophy increasingly visible in modern warfare, where mass production and affordability can offset technological sophistication.
However, skepticism is warranted. Multinational European defense projects have often struggled with delays and political friction. Tensions between France and Germany over the Future Combat Air System program serve as a recent reminder of how industrial rivalries can undermine ambitious cooperation efforts.
Moreover, the ELSA framework itself was launched in mid-2024 but reportedly lost momentum amid a wave of national-level defense initiatives across the EU. While most of the original participants, with the exception of the Netherlands, have rejoined this new effort, questions remain about whether OWE 500+ system represents a genuinely new development or simply a repackaging of an existing solution.
One plausible explanation is that the initiative aims to scale up production of MBDA's existing One Way Effector drone. That system reportedly offers a similar 500-kilometer range and also envisions the use of 155-mm artillery shells as a payload. France has already placed orders for the platform, and MBDA has indicated a potential production capacity of up to 1,000 units per month.
The broader European market for affordable long-range strike systems is already becoming competitive. Beyond MBDA's Crossbow cruise missile, alternatives such as Barracuda 500M system from Anduril Industries offer ranges of several hundred kilometers, warhead options up to 100 kilograms, and a unit cost slightly above $200,000. Against this backdrop, the strategic logic of launching another multinational development program, rather than scaling existing solutions, remains open to interpretation.
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