| Is Missile: | yes |
| ASMP | |
| Origin: | France |
| Type: | Medium-range supersonic stand-off nuclear missile |
| Designer: | Aérospatiale Matra MBDA France ArianeGroup (ASN4G) |
| Manufacturer: | MBDA France ArianeGroup |
| Service: | May 1986–present[1] |
| Engine: | liquid-fuel ramjet |
| Weight: | [2] |
| Speed: | up to Mach 3[3] Mach 4-8 (ASN4G) |
| Vehicle Range: | for ASMP-A version)[4] |
| Filling: | TN 81 nuclear warhead, variable yield 100ktonTNT300ktonTNT |
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.
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.
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 are 5.38m (17.65feet) long and weigh 860kg (1,900lb). 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 80and for the ASMP and 500km (300miles) for the ASMP-A depending on flight profile.The ASMP uses the TN 81 warhead, which has a variable-yield of 100ktonTNT300ktonTNT.
In 1991, 90 missiles and 80 warheads were reported to have been produced. By 2001, 60 of them were reported as operational.[6]
An upgraded version known as Air-Sol Moyenne Portée-Amélioré ASMP-A (improved ASMP) has a range of about 500km (300miles)[7] at a speed of up to Mach 3 with the new Tête Nucléaire Aéroportée (TNA) 300 kt thermonuclear warhead.[8] 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.[9] 54 ASMP-A have been delivered to French Air and Space Force.[10]
The ASMPA-R (renovated) project, launched in 2016, will see the missile's range extended and a new 300kt thermonuclear warhead added. First flight test occurred in May 2024.[11]
The studies for the successor to the ASMP missile, dubbed as ASN4G (Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4ème Génération), a scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile[12] [13] have already begun.[14] The aim is to design a missile capable of either high supersonic (Mach 4–5) or hypersonic flight (Mach 7–8).[15] [16]
The ASN4G could be carried by the Rafale fighter jet and the requirement is for a missile range much greater than 1000km (1,000miles).[17] [18] [19] ASN4G is being developed and will be manufactured by ArianeGroup.[20]