Topic summary

Air-sol moyenne portée

Air-sol moyenne portée

The Air-sol moyenne portée (ASMP; lit.'Medium-Range Air-to-Surface') is a French nuclear-armedair-launched cruise missile manufactured by MBDA France. In French nuclear doctrine, it serves what is referred to as a "pre-strategic" deterrence role. It is intended to be the ultimate "warning shot" prior to the full-scale employment of the strategic nuclear weapons arming the Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines. The missile's development was undertaken by Aérospatiale's missile systems division, whose assets are 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 service entry occurred 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 2014, is expected to succeed the ASMP from 2035 onwards.