Air-sol moyenne portée

The air-sol moyenne portée (ASMP; "medium-range air to surface missile") is a French nuclear air-launched cruise missile manufactured by MBDA France. In French nuclear doctrine, it is referred to as a "pre-strategic" weapon, the last-resort "warning shot" prior to a full-scale employment of strategic nuclear weapons launched from the Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines. The missile's development was undertaken by Aérospatiale's Tactical Missile Division, now part of MBDA.

ASMP
TypeMedium-range supersonic stand-off nuclear missile
Place of originFrance
Service history
In serviceMay 1986–present[1]
Production history
DesignerAérospatiale
Matra
MBDA France
ArianeGroup (ASN4G)
ManufacturerMBDA France
ArianeGroup
Specifications
Mass860 kg (1,900 lb)[2]
Length5.38 m (17.7 ft)
Diameter380 mm (15 in)
WarheadTN 81 nuclear warhead, variable yield 100 to 300 kilotons of TNT (420 to 1,260 TJ)
Engineliquid-fuel ramjet
Operational
range
300 km (190 mi) (more than 500 km (310 mi) for ASMP-A version)[3]
Maximum speed up to Mach 3[4]
Mach 4-8 (ASN4G)
Launch
platform

The ASMP entered service in May 1986. The development of an upgraded version, the ASMP-A, was launched in 1997 and the missile entered service in 2009. In 2016, yet another modernization program, the ASMPA-R, was launched. The first firing test of the ASMPA-R took place in December 2021 and the second in March 2022.

The ASN4G air-launched hypersonic cruise missile under development as of 2023 is expected to replace the ASMP in the pre-strategic nuclear deterrence role from 2035 onwards.

Development

ASMP

ASMP entered service in May 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, Dassault Rafale and Super Étendard. The Mirage IVP carried the ASMP until retired in 1996.

ASMP and ASMP-A is 5.38 metres (17.7 ft) long and weighs 860 kilograms (1,900 lb). It is a supersonic standoff missile powered by a liquid fuel ramjet.[5] It flies at Mach 2 to Mach 3, with a range between 80 and 300 kilometres (50 and 190 mi) for the ASMP and 500 kilometres (310 mi) for the ASMP-A depending on flight profile. The ASMP uses the TN 81 warhead, which has a variable-yield of 100 to 300 kilotons of TNT (420 to 1,260 TJ).

In 1991, 90 missiles and 80 warheads were reported to have been produced. By 2001, 60 of them were reported as operational.[6]

ASMP-A

An upgraded version known as Air-Sol Moyenne Portée-Amélioré ASMP-A (improved ASMP) has a range of about 500 kilometres (310 mi)[7] at a speed of up to Mach 3 with the new Tête Nucléaire Aéroportée (TNA) 300 kt thermonuclear warhead.[3] It entered service in October 2009 with the Mirage 2000NK3 of squadron EC 3/4 at Istres and in July 2010 with the Rafales of squadron EC 1/91 at Saint Dizier.[8] 54 ASMP-A have been delivered to French Air and Space Force.[9]

  • ASMP-A
    ASMP-A
  • Back of ASMP-A mock-up
    Back of ASMP-A mock-up

ASMPA-R

The ASMPA-R (renovated) project, launched in 2016, will see the missile's range extended and a new 300kt thermonuclear warhead added.[5]

Successor

The studies for the successor to the ASMP missile, dubbed as ASN4G (Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4ème Génération), a scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile[10][11] have already begun.[12] The aim is to design a missile capable of either high supersonic (Mach 4–5) or hypersonic flight (Mach 7–8).[13][14]

The ASN4G could be carried by the Rafale fighter jet and the requirement is for a missile range much greater than 1,000 kilometres (600 mi).[15][16][17] ASN4G is being developed and will be manufactured by ArianeGroup.[18]

Operators
 France

References
  1. Dickson, David (12 February 1988). "Anglo-French nuclear missile under study". Science. 239 (4841): 720–1. Bibcode:1988Sci...239..720D. doi:10.1126/science.239.4841.720. PMID 17832931. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  2. "ASMP/-A | Missile ThreatASMP-A | Missile Threat". Archived from the original on 21 January 2013.
  3. Admin (1 July 2001). "French Air Force evaluates ASMPA enhanced stand-off missile". Airforce Technology. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  4. "Cruise missiles". Defence Ministry, France. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  5. Auran, Jean Francois (October 2021). "French Strategic Forces: Nuclear Defenders". Air Forces Monthly. p. 33.
  6. Norris, Robert S.; Arkin, William M.; Kristensen, Hans M.; Handler, Joshua (1 July 2001). "French Nuclear Forces, 2001". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  7. "Ancile". www.deagel.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  8. Robert Hewson, "French ASMP-A missile enters service". Jane's Defence Weekly. July 14, 2010, p. 14.
  9. "French Air Force evaluates ASMPA enhanced stand-off missile" (PDF). 19 February 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  10. "Counting the cost of deterrence: France's nuclear recapitalisation".
  11. Timothy Wright (May 2022). "Hypersonic Missile Proliferation: An Emerging European Problem?" (PDF). nonproliferation.eu. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  12. "Onera Explores Mach-8 Missile Engine Technology". 8 August 2017.
  13. "L'ASN4G sera le futur missile des forces aériennes stratégiques". 21 November 2014.
  14. Bruno Tertrais (1 June 2015). "Deterrence according to François Hollande" (PDF). frstrategie.org. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  15. "Former procurement official joins MBDA as France eyes new munitions". 8 December 2017.
  16. "ASMP/-A Nuclear Cruise Missile: The Development and Capabilities". 4 December 2020.
  17. "Quel avion pour emporter le futur missile nucléaire hypersonique des Forces aériennes stratégiques?". 8 March 2018.
  18. "Now France Wants Hypersonic Missiles by 2021 | The National Interest". 4 February 2019.
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