Type 45 HMS Diamond being loaded with Sea Viper missiles at HMNB Portsmouth MOD 45159617

The Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a Franco-Italian family of all-weather, vertical launch

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s.Eurosam: Naval Systems – Aster 15 & 30/PAAMS
(Official Eurosam website), Retrieved February 2014. "''Up to 120 km range''". The name "''Aster''" stands for "Aérospatiale Terminale", with French company

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...

having been the project's lead contractor before its missile activities were merged into

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of Missile, missiles and related systems.Eurosam Eurosam GIE is a European manufacturer of anti-air missiles. Eurosam was established in June 1989 for the development of the ''Famille de missiles Sol-Air Futurs'' (Future Surface-to-Air Family of missiles or FSAF). Eurosam was initially a joint ...

, a consortium consisting of MBDA France, MBDA Italy and

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

, each holding a 33.3% share. The Aster missiles were developed to intercept and destroy the full spectrum of air threats from high-performance

combat aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on support roles: * Combat aircraft, ...

, UAVs and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s to cruise, anti-radiation and even sea-skimming

supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

anti-ship missiles. The Aster 30 Block 1 and Block 1 NT are designed to also counter ballistic missiles. The Aster is primarily operated by France and Italy, as well as the United Kingdom as an export customer, and is an integrated component of the PAAMS air defence system, known in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as Sea Viper. As the principal weapon of the PAAMS, the Aster equips the s in French and Italian service as well as the British Type 45 destroyers. It equips the French and Italian

FREMM multipurpose frigate The European multi-purpose frigate or FREMM (; ) is a Franco-Italian family of warships designed by Naval Group and Fincantieri. This surface combatant is known in France as the ''Aquitaine'' class (17 units planned, of which 9 were later cance ...

s, though not through the PAAMS air defense suite itself but specific French and Italian derivatives of the system.

History

During the 1980s, the predominant missiles in Franco-Italian service were short-range systems such as the French Crotale, Italian Selenia Aspide or American Sea Sparrow, with ranges up to a dozen kilometres. Some vessels were also equipped with the American medium/long range

RIM-66 Standard The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the SM-1 was dev ...

. France and Italy decided to start development of a domestic medium/long range

to enter service in the first decade of the 21st century, that would give them comparable range but superior interception capability to the American Standard or British Sea Dart already in service. Thought was given in particular to the new missile's ability to intercept next-generation supersonic

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. ...

s, such as the

BrahMos The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)fleets. In May 1989, a memorandum of understanding was signed between France and Italy for the development of a family of future surface-to air-missiles. Eurosam was formed shortly afterwards. By July 1995 development had taken shape in the form of the Aster missile, and test firing of the first Aster 30 took place. The missile successfully intercepted a target at an altitude of and at speeds of . A Phase 2 contract was awarded in 1997 at US$1 billion for pre-production and development of the French-Italian land and naval systems. During development trials between 1993 and 1994 all flight sequences, altitudes and ranges, were validated. This was also the period during which the launch sequence of Aster 30 was validated. In May 1996, trials of the Aster 15 active electromagnetic final guidance system against live targets began. All six attempts were successful. During 1997 Aster was extensively tested, this time being pitted against targets such as the Aerospatiale C.22 target and first generation

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from Warship, surface vessels, Submarine, submarines, Helicopter, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guil ...

anti-ship missiles. In numerous engagements Aster scored direct impacts on its targets. During an engagement in November 1997 in a strong countermeasures environment, the Aster was not armed with its military warhead, so that the distance between the Aster and the target could be recorded. The target, a C22, was recovered bearing two strong cuts made by the fins of the Aster missile. In May 2001, Aster again completed the "manufacturer's validation firing test". It was deployed for the first time on the French

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

aircraft carrier . In June 2001, the Aster achieved a successful interception of an Arabel missile at low altitude in less than five seconds. In 2001, a target simulating an aircraft flying at speeds of Mach 1 and at an altitude of was intercepted by an Aster 15. The first ever operational firing of the Aster missile took place during October 2002 on board ''Charles de Gaulle''. In November 2003, Eurosam was awarded the 3 billion euro Phase 3 production contract. Full production and exports to France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom started. The resulting Aster surface-to-air missile meets inter-service and international requirements, addressing the needs of the land, air and naval forces of France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The decision to base the missile around a common terminal intercept "dart" to which different sized boosters can be attached, has made it modular and extensible. From 2002 to 2005, the Italian experimental frigate provided a test bed for live firing trials of the Aster 15 from Sylver A43 launchers with

EMPAR EMPAR (European Multifunction Phased Array Radar) is a rotating C band multifunction passive electronically scanned array radar that reached IOC in 2006 and was initially built by Selex ES (previously SELEX Sistemi Integrati, since 2016 merge ...

and SAAM-it systems, and the trials of Aster 30 from Sylver A50 launchers with EMPAR and PAAMS(E) systems. , France had spent €4.1bn at 2010 prices on 10 SAMP/T launchers, 375 Aster 30 missiles and 200 Aster 15 missiles. Another 80 Aster 30 and 40 Aster 15 were purchased for France's s under a separate programme. In January 2023, the Italian and French Minister of Defense signed with MBDA a $2 billion contract for the purchase of 700 Aster missiles.

Characteristics

There are two versions of the Aster missile family, the short-medium range version, the Aster 15, and the long range version, the Aster 30. The missile bodies are identical. Their difference in range and intercept speed is because Aster 30 uses a much larger booster. Total weights of the Aster 15 and Aster 30 are and respectively. The Aster 15 is long, rising to just under for the Aster 30. Aster 15 has a diameter of . Given the larger dimensions of the Aster 30, a naval based system requires the longer tubes of the Sylver A50 or A70

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mo ...

(VLS). The American Mark 41 Vertical Launching System can accommodate Aster 30.

Variants

* Aster 15: Short to medium range surface-to-air missile * Aster 15 EC : New version of the Aster 15 with twice the range (60+ km); under development as of 2023 and expected to be introduced in 2030 * Aster 30 Block 0: Medium to long range surface-to-air missile. It can pull manoeuvres in excess of 50''g''. * Aster 30 Block 1: Variant with anti-ballistic missile capability; tailored to counter -class

short-range ballistic missile A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of to . In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their relative low c ...

s. * Aster 30 Block 1NT: NT standing for "New Technology", it is a new variant of the Aster 30 designed to counter short and -class

medium-range ballistic missile A medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) is a type of ballistic missile with medium range (aeronautics), range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the United States Department of Defense, U.S. D ...

s. * Aster 30 Block 2 BMD – Anti-ballistic missile under development and intended to counter up to -class ballistic and maneuvering missiles. The Aster 30 Block 1 is used on the Eurosam SAMP/T system operated by the French Air and Space Force and the Italian Army. In 2015, France launched the development of the Block 1NT variant, a programme Italy would join in 2016. The same year, the United Kingdom showed interest in acquiring the Block 1NT version for its Type 45 destroyers currently operating the Block 0. In 2022, the United Kingdom announced a series of upgrades to its Type 45 destroyers. This included the implementation of the Block 1 version for anti-ship ballistic missile defense.

Deployment

Naval systems

* * * * Type 45 destroyer *

* * ''Al Riyadh''-class frigate * ''Kalaat Béni Abbès'' class *

Frégate de défense et d'intervention The Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention () or FDI, formerly denominated Frégate de Taille Intermédiaire () or FTI, is a programme launched in 2015 to produce a new class of first-rank French frigates to complement the . , five ships have bee ...

* Thaon di Revel-class offshore patrol vessel * Doha-class corvette

Land systems

The Aster 30 has been incorporated by Eurosam into a mobile SAM system, fulfilling the ground-based theatre air defence/protection requirement. It comes in the form of the Sol-Air Moyenne-Portée/Terrestre (French for "Surface-to-Air Medium-Range/Land-based"), abbreviated as SAMP/T. The system uses a network of radars and sensors – including 3D phased array radar – enabling it to be effective against various air threats such as

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

tactical ballistic missile A tactical ballistic missile (TBM), or battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM), is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range (aeronautics), range is less than . Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mo ...

s, standoff missiles,

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

s or

anti-radiation missile An anti-radiation missile (ARM) is a missile designed to detect and home in on an enemy radio emission source. Typically, these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communications can also be ta ...

s. The SAMP/T uses an upgraded version of the Arabel long range radar, developed under the Aster 30 Block 1 upgrade program, in order to extend the system's capability against higher speed and higher altitude targets. The Aster 30 Block 1 can intercept missiles with a range (

s). SAMP/T NG uses either the Kronos Grand Mobile High Power or the Ground Fire 300 AESA radars. SAMP/T NG will be delivered from 2025.

Operational history

Testing

*In April 2008, RSS ''Intrepid'', a of the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the Naval warfare, maritime Military branch, service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any seaborne threats and as a guarantor of its sea lines of ...

, shot down an aerial drone off the French port of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

during a naval exercise. Then again in 2010, a frigate of the same class, RSS ''Supreme'' fired an Aster 15 and shot down an aerial drone off the coast of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

as part of exercise RIMPAC 2010. The RSN conducted 6 successful live-firings of the Aster missile over 11 years. *Beginning with in September 2010, all of the

's Type 45 destroyers have successfully intercepted Mirach drones with Aster missiles at the

Benbecula Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...

ranges off the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

, Scotland. Mirach is a jet which flies at speeds of up to at altitudes as low as or as high as . *In December 2011, an Aster 30 missile downed an Israeli '' Black Sparrow'' ballistic missile target, the first time an Aster missile had attempted such an engagement. *In April 2012, the , , of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

downed a target simulating a sea-skimming supersonic anti-ship cruise missile flying at an altitude of less than 5 metres. It was the first time a European missile defence system destroyed a supersonic sea-skimming missile. The trial was described as a complex operational scenario. *In 2021, during the Exercise At-Sea Demo: Formidable Shield 2021, the Horizon-class frigate ''Forbin'', intercepted a supersonic sea skimming target flying at more than 3000 km/h using an Aster 30 missile.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In May 2023, Italian newspaper ''

La Stampa (English: "The Press") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin with an average circulation of 87,143 copies in May 2023. Distributed in Italy and other European nations, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Until the late 1970 ...

'' reported that France and Italy had jointly delivered a SAMP/T air defense system to Ukraine. In June 2024, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that Italy would be sending a second SAMP/T system to Ukraine. The date of arrival was not announced. On 11 March 2025,

Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force (, PS ZSU) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Fo ...

Colonel Yurii Ihnat stated that the SAMP/T had downed a Russian Sukhoi military aircraft, among other targets. He did not provide any further details. In March 2025, according to the ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

'', Ukraine had practically run out of Aster missiles, and was asking Italy and France for replenishment.

Red Sea crisis

In 2024, during Operation Aspides, it is likely that the French Navy utilised Aster 30 to intercept three Houthi ballistic missiles. The missile was also likely used by the Royal Navy to down another Houthi ballistic missile in April 2024.

Operators

Singapore Navy guided-missile frigate RSS Steadfast

The MBDA Aster 30 of the Republic of Singapore Air Force

Current operators

;

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

* Algerian National Navy – ; Egypt *

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy (), also known as the Egyptian Naval Forces, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest (by the number of vessels) navy in the w ...

;

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the French Air F ...

;

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the Navy, naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independ ...

– Aster 30 for FDI HN frigates ; Italy *

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

;

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

* Royal Moroccan Navy ;

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

* Qatar Navy ;

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

* Royal Saudi Navy ;

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Republic of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establis ...

;

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

One SAMP/T battery delivered jointly by France and Italy in 2023. The future delivery of another battery by Italy was announced in June 2024.Delivery of an additional battery was announced in May 2025. ;

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Potential operators

;

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

– In January 2018, a contract was signed during a state visit by the President of Turkey in Paris for a project with Eurosam for a future Long Range Air and Missile Defense System (LORAMIDS) for a period of 18 months where Turkish companies Roketsan and Aselsan would participate in the joint-production of the missile system. It was stated that the SAMP/T air defense system project, which was stopped at the end of 2019 due to Turkey's launch of Operation Peace Spring in Syria, came to the agenda at the NATO Summit, and that Turkey, France and Italy would revive the project. ;

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Slovak Air Force The Slovak Air Force, known since 2002 as the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic (), is the aviation and air defense branch of the Military of Slovakia, Slovak Armed Forces. Operating 15 aircraft and 18 helicopters fro ...

– Ministry of Defence of Slovak Republic is now negotiating and comparing offers for MRAD systems from Israeli companies, American– Norwegian NASAMS and French Aérospatiales SAMP/T system. Systems will replace old

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

2K12 Kub The 2K12 ''"Kub"'' (; English: 'cube') (NATO reporting name: SA-6 "Gainful") mobile surface-to-air missile system is a Soviet Union, Soviet low to medium-level air defence system designed to protect ground forces from air attack. ''2К12'' is ...

systems. Systems should be acquired in 2024. ;

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

* Croatian Air Force – In a decisive strategic initiative to fortify its national air and missile defense capabilities, the Republic of Croatia is evaluating the SAMP/T NG missile defense system, outfitted with Aster 30 B1 NT missiles. This procurement would underscore Croatia's proactive efforts to bolster its military infrastructure amidst dynamically evolving global security challenges.

References

External links

SAMP/T Aster 30 Mamba Surface-to-air defence missile system
(armyrecognition.com)
Video – HMS Diamond fires Aster 30 missile
2012
MBDA Aster 15 & 30 PAAMS

MBDA Aster 15 SAAM

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aster (Missile Family) 21st-century surface-to-air missiles Naval surface-to-air missiles Naval surface-to-air missiles of France Anti-ballistic missiles of France Military equipment introduced in the 2000s Surface-to-surface missiles of France