France, Italy, UK order additional Aster missiles

An Aster missile is launched from the UK Royal Navy's Type 45 air-defence destroyer HMS Diamond on 9 January 2024 during operations to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi drone and missile attacks. (Crown Copyright)

France, Italy, and the United Kingdom have confirmed the procurement of an additional batch of more than 200 Aster 15 and 30 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) as well as the acceleration of deliveries for missiles already ordered from Eurosam, a joint venture between MBDA and Thales.

The contract amendment, announced on 14 March by the French defence procurement agency (DGA), was awarded by the European arms procurement agency Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) to Eurosam on 11 March on behalf of the three countries for their respective armed forces.

It covers the production of 218 additional Aster missiles, comprising Aster 30 Block 1 missiles for the SAMP/T NG ground-based air-defence batteries operated by the French air force, Italian Army, and Italian Air Force and the naval air-defence systems of all three countries; as well as Aster 15 missiles for the French Navy.

At the same time, the new contract will expedite the production of Aster missiles ordered in December 2022, with 134 additional missiles to be delivered between 2025 and 2026.

The Aster 30 and Aster 15 missiles are two-stage missiles with a common terminal delivery system and boosters.

The Aster 15, developed for short-to-medium range air defence, has been designed to counter saturation attacks from manoeuvring missiles, fighter aircraft, and slower aircraft such as maritime patrol aircraft or reconnaissance aircraft. It is designed to be capable of defeating missiles manoeuvring at up to 15 g and speeds in excess of 850 m/s.