On 8 December 2022, the OCCAR-EA Director, on behalf of the UK MoD, signed Amendment 10 of the Sustainment & Enhancement (S&E) contract with Eurosam’s consortium Managing Director, Mrs. Eva Bruxmeier. The contract amendment saw the UK joining the multi-National partnership between France and Italy for the Production of the Aster Block 1, with a new contract managed by MBDA through Eurosam.
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French and Italian MoDs are funding and supporting the development of the Aster 30 Block 1 NT munition (Picture source: Eurosam)
The contract will oversee, in the framework of the Aster missiles Mid-Life Update (MLU) for UK, the conversion of Aster 30 warheads to Aster 30 B1 Naval UK standard: autopilot software development and logistics updates, whilst the munition assembly will take place in UK premises, at Defence Munition Gosport (DMG).
The close collaboration between OCCAR, the UK MoD and DE&S in particular, plus the great level of effort from DGA (FR) and SEGREDIFESA (IT), played a key role in the achievement of these major milestones after a lengthy and complex negotiation period with industry. This programme further strengthens the long-lasting relationship and strategic cooperation between France, Italy and the UK in the ammunition domain and paves the way for future Tri-National achievements and partnership opportunities.
The Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a Franco-Italian family of all-weather, vertical launch surface-to-air missiles. The name "Aster" stands for "Aérospatiale Terminale" (French company Aérospatiale having been the project's lead contractor before its missile activities were merged into MBDA). It also takes inspiration from the word "aster" meaning "star" in Ancient Greek. The missiles as well as the related weapon systems are manufactured by Eurosam, a consortium consisting of MBDA France, MBDA Italy (both with a combined 66% share) and Thales (holding 33%).
The Aster missiles were developed to intercept and destroy the full spectrum of air threats from high-performance combat aircraft, UAVs and helicopters to cruise, anti-radiation and even sea-skimming supersonic anti-ship missiles. In addition, the Aster 30 Block 1 and Block 1 NT were designed to counter ballistic missiles.
The Aster is primarily operated by France, 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 as Sea Viper). As the principal weapon of the PAAMS, the Aster equips the Horizon-class frigates in French and Italian service as well as the British Type 45 destroyers. It also equips the French and Italian FREMM multipurpose frigates, though not through the PAAMS air defense suite itself but specific French and Italian derivatives of the system.
On 8 December 2022, the OCCAR-EA Director, on behalf of the UK MoD, signed Amendment 10 of the Sustainment & Enhancement (S&E) contract with Eurosam’s consortium Managing Director, Mrs. Eva Bruxmeier (Picture source: OCCAR)
