Aster (missile family)
The Aster missile series, primarily comprising the Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a family of Franco-Italian vertically launched surface-to-air missiles. The name ""Aster"" stands for "Aérospatiale Terminale" (French company Aérospatiale being the original lead contractor before becoming MBDA) and from the mythical Greek archer named "Asterion" (in Greek mythology), Asterion likewise receiving his name from the ancient Greek word aster (), meaning "star". Aster is manufactured by Eurosam, a European consortium consisting of MBDA France, MBDA Italy (combined 66%) and the Thales Group (33%). The missile is designed to intercept and destroy a wide  range of air threats, such as supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles at very low altitude (sea-skimming) and fast flying, high performance aircraft or missiles. Aster is primarily operated by France, Italy, and the United Kingdom as an export customer, and is an integrated component of the PAAMS air-defence missile system, known in the Royal Navy as Sea Viper. As the principal weapon of the PAAMS system, Aster equips the s and the British Type 45 destroyers. Aster also equips the French and Italian FREMM multipurpose frigates, though are not using the PAAMS air-defense suite itself but through  Franco-Italian specific declinations of this suite. 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. France and Italy decided to start development of a domestic medium/long range surface-to-air missile 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 missiles, such as the BrahMos missile developed jointly by India and Russia. This allowed the actual systems to have the characteristic of being specialised either in short-to-medium range "point defence" for e.g. ships, or in medium-to-long range "zone defence" of 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. Again during 1997 Aster was extensively tested, this time being pitted against targets such as the Aerospatiale C.22 target and first generation Exocet anti-ship missiles. In numerous engagements Aster scored direct impacts on its targets. During one such engagement on 13 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 had again successfully completed the "manufacturer's validation firing test" and was deployed for the first time on the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier . Again on 29 June 2001, the Aster achieved a successful interception of an Arabel missile at low altitude in less than five seconds. During the same year 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". Finally in November 2003  Eurosam was awarded the 3 billion euro Phase 3 production contract which saw full production commence and exports to France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. 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 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. Characteristics. There are currently two versions of the Aster missile family, the short-medium range version, Aster 15, and the long range version, 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. Aster 15 has a length of , rising to just under for 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 (VLS). Additionally the American Mark 41 Vertical Launching System can accommodate Aster 30. Variants. Block 1 is used in the Eurosam SAMP/T system operated by the French Air Force  and the Italian Army. , the development of Block 1NT is being funded by France and Italy. In 2016, the United Kingdom showed interest in acquiring the Block 1NT version for its Type 45 destroyers. Deployment. Land systems. Aster 30 has been successfully incorporated into a land based SAM system, fulfilling the ""Ground-based area defence"" mission requirement. It comes in the form of the Eurosam SAMP/T ("Surface-to-Air Missile Platform/Terrain"). The system uses a network of sophisticated radars and sensors – including 3D phased array radar – enabling it to be highly effective against all types of air threats . SAMP/T uses an upgraded version of the Arabel long range radar, with improved performance developed under the Aster 30 block 1 upgrade program, in order to extend the system's capability against higher speed targets and higher altitude targets. The system can intercept missiles with a range (short range ballistic missile targets).<ref name="SAMP/T"></ref>