French MBDA (ex MATRA) Weapons
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Aster (surface-to-air missile family) Aster is a family of surface-to-air missiles manufactured by Eurosam, a European consortium consisting of MBDA France, MBDA Italy (combined 66%) and the Thales Group (33%). The Aster family was developed to perform three distinct missions:
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The Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP; medium-range air to surface missile) is a French air-launched nuclear missile. Part of the Force de frappe, in French nuclear doctrine it is the last-resort "warning shot" prior to a full-scale employment of strategic nuclear weapons. The missile's construction was contracted to Aérospatiale's Tactical Missile Division, now part of MBDA. ASMP entered service in 1986, replacing the earlier free-fall AN-22 bomb on France's Dassault Mirage IV aircraft and the AN-52 bomb on Dassault Super Étendard. About 84 weapons are stockpiled. Carrier aircraft are the Dassault Mirage 2000N, Rafale, and Super Étendard; the earlier Mirage IVP was completely retired in 1996. ASMP is 5.38 m long and weighs 860 kg. It is a supersonic stand-off missile powered by a liquid-fuel ramjet. It flies at Mach 2 to Mach 3, with a range between 80 km and 300 km depending on flight profile. Warhead is a single TN 81 with two yield options, 150 and 300 kt of TNT. An advanced version known as ASMP-A has a range of about 500km at a speed of up to Mach 3 with the new TNA (tête nucléaire aéroporté) 300kt thermonuclear warhead. It entered service in October 2009 with the Mirage 2000NK3 of squadron EC 3/4 at Istres and on July 2010 with the Rafales of squadron EC 1/91 at Saint Dizier. |
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