Lockheed Martin, which is the world's biggest contractor, and Britain's BAE Systems are already working together on exploring a European missile defense program under the aegis of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The memorandum is a general agreement only and offers no specific course of action.

"When combined, these strengths will generate added value for our customers in the US, the UK and in other nations," said Dave Kier, Lockheed's head of missile defense programs, in a statement.

"The signing of this agreement demonstrates our intention to broaden our collaboration in missile defense as the program moves towards an international dimension," said David Bond, missile defense director at BAE.

Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems are both members of Team Janus, an international team studying the feasibility of a multinational, fully integrated missile defense solution for NATO.

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