MBDA has delivered the first batch of ASTER air defense missiles, less than two and a half years after France and Italy placed the joint order through the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation and its industry partner Eurosam.
The French missile maker said the milestone highlights the rapid progress of its ASTER missile program. The program targets the delivery of nearly 1,000 units to the armed forces of France, Italy and the United Kingdom under a joint procurement launched in December 2022 and expanded earlier this year.
MBDA CEO Eric Béranger noted the company’s commitment to upgrading its industrial facilities. “This acceleration will provide Italian, French and British armed forces with essential air defense systems to protect European skies … and increase NATO’s defense capabilities,” the chief executive said.
ASTER missiles are all‑weather, vertically launched surface-to-air interceptors. Its ASTER 15 variant features speeds up to Mach 3 and a range of over 30 kilometers, covering short to medium-range threats such as aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
MBDA said it expects to double its missile output between 2023 and 2025 and will invest $2.7 billion from 2025 to 2029 to increase capacity further. It also aims to reduce ASTER production time by more than 50 percent by 2026 and deliver five times more missiles in 2025 than the initial targets. Efforts include facility expansion in Bourges and Selles-Saint-Denis in France and Fusaro, Italy, along with staff recruitment and component stockpiling.
In related developments, MBDA signed a contract with the Italian Army in June to develop FULGUR, a new very short-range, man-portable, supersonic missile. Last December, the company’s joint venture with Saab Dynamics secured a German defense contract to upgrade Taurus stand-off missiles, extending their operational life until at least 2045.
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