Aster 30 Block 1NT

The New Technology upgrade of France's Aster 30 surface-to-air missile, adding an improved seeker and processing to intercept short-and-medium-range ballistic missiles, including hypersonic threats, in addition to aircraft and cruise missiles. It arms the SAMP/T NG ground system and Horizon and FREMM-class warships.

In service since 2023 · 3 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

120

km range

4.5

Mach

kg warhead

Pricing: Unit cost not publicly disclosed

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

French export-licensed

CIEEMG inter-ministerial approval; broadly export-oriented.

Channel: DGA / direct commercial

Fielded & proven

Limited · 3 operators

In service since 2023. Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.: 4.5 Mach

Stronger than 78% of missiles
Range Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.: 120 km

Stronger than 40% of missiles

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Warhead Warhead mass. Heavier generally means larger effect radius, at the cost of range.: 15 kg

Stronger than 27% of missiles
Warhead type Blast-fragmentation, shaped charge (HEAT), penetrator, thermobaric or nuclear-capable.: Directional blast-fragmentation
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.: Inertial navigation with mid-course uplink, Active radar terminal seeker

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…: Two-stage solid-fuel rocket with PIF-PAF thrust vectoring

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 3

Stronger than 39% of missiles

Specifications compiled from public MBDA and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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