Sagem has been awarded a contract to supply 3,400 AASM Air-to-Ground Weapons to equip the French Air Force Rafale aircraft. The order also covers the initial order of 680 weapons. This latest order follows the initial contract won by Sagem for 750 AASMs to be delivered to the French air force. The AASM has been deployed on Rafale fighters in Afghanistan for the last two years.
The basic version will integrate an upgraded, GPS module and be prepared to receive an Inertial/GPS and laser terminal guidance systems. The new multi-sensor guided version expands the AASM family, which already includes two versions qualified on the Rafale multirole combat aircraft, with inertial/GPS or inertial/GPS/infrared guidance. In particular, the new version enables precision strikes against moving targets. The AASM weapon family comprises kits and augmentation kits fitting 1,000, 500, 250, and 125 kg bombs.
Launched from standoff distance, day or night and in all weather conditions, the AASM offers a range exceeding 50 kilometers. The AASM can be released at low altitude, and can also be fired off-axis, in relation to the aircraft’s flight path. It offers very high precision and strikes its target vertically, a feature suited to asymmetrical conflicts. This makes it the perfect weapon for combat in difficult terrain or urban environments, for both planned missions and opportunity fire.
