Sea Viper (Aster 30)

Royal Navy designation for the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) built around the Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles, providing the Type 45 destroyer's primary air-defense armament against aircraft, anti-ship missiles and ballistic threats. Aster missiles use a unique PIF-PAF direct-thrust vector control system for high maneuverability.

In service since 2009 · 5 operator countries

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

120

km range

4.5

Mach

kg warhead

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

UK export-licensed

Subject to UK SPIRE licensing (ECJU); generally available to allied states.

Channel: Government-to-government or direct

Fielded & proven

Established · 5 operators

In service since 2009. 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.: Fragmentation blast
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.: Inertial with mid-course update, Active radar terminal homing

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 4.9 m
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.: 510 kg

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.: 5

Stronger than 52% 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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