Franco-Italian ASTER 30 B1 NT Missile Passes First Test

France successfully conducted the first test firing of the new Franco-Italian surface-to-air ASTER 30 B1 missile. The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, has stated that the ASTER 30 B1 NT missiles will be used by the SAMP/T New Generation ground-based air defense system. This ground-based air defense missile system with these missiles is to be put into service in France in 2026.

The missile will also be installed on board of Horizon-class air defense destroyers of the Italian Navy (from 2027) and the French Navy (from 2030) after their modernization. During this test firing, two air targets were launched to simulate a challenging air defense situation. One target was an enemy fighter jet and the other was a friendly aircraft that needed to be protected. MBDA's ASTER B1 NT missile is claimed to intercept short-range missiles or ballistic missiles with a range of up to 1500 km.

The new missile is designed to counter new missile threats in the naval sphere, such as Russia's 3M22 Zircon and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles (the so-called "first-generation hypersonic weapon systems"). According to MBDA and DGA experts working on the program, ASTER B1 NT is equipped with anti-spoofing algorithms that allow it to distinguish between false and real missile targets.

Launch of the ASTER B1 NT missile. October 2024.

France. Still from the video of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces

To date, the MBDA ASTER missile series has conducted more than 250 successful launches, including more than 100 operational launches in Ukraine and the Red Sea. As recently reported, in September 2024, France confirmed a new contract for the production of seven additional SAMP/T NG air defense missile systems.

Exhibition of the SAMP/T NG system with the Aster-30 Block 1 New Technology (B1 NT) missile.

Photo: edrmagazine.eu

The French military expects to receive 12 combat systems by 2035.

Additional orders for 4 systems are planned to be placed by 2027.