Sagem Defense Unveils AASM Family of Precision Air-To-Ground Weapons

Sagem Defense, PARIS LE BOURGET: Sagem Défense Sécurité (SAFRAN Group) will be exhibiting for the first time at the 47th Paris Air Show its AASM family of modular air-to-ground weapons, spun off from the 250kg version ordered for the French Air Force and Navy. 
 
The AASM will enter service in 2007 on the French Air Force’s and Navy’s Rafale fighters. 
 
A new 125kg version of the AASM will be proposed, which is ideal for urban strikes. The 500 and 1000kg versions will complete the family to take out more ruggedized targets. 
 
The different AASM calibers will have guidance and range enhancement kits that are based on the one for the 250kg version. The 1000kg AASM will have a special range enhancement kit. 
 
Two versions of the guidance kits are proposed: GPS/inertial guidance and GPS/inertial/infrared. They will enable the weapon to be fired at a standoff distance even at low altitudes. It will also make precision strikes on the spot and in urban areas possible. 
 
In the future new guidance kits will provide new operational functions, such as laser-lit strikes and last minute strikes on mobile targets. 
 
The 250kg AASM has a range of over 50km. The kits are designed to be adapted without modification to Mk-82, BLU111 and CBEMS “BANG” bomb bodies.  
 
Sagem Défense Sécurité is a high-technology company in the SAFRAN Group. As a leading European defense and security electronics company in Europe, its business covers three main fields: navigation and aeronautics systems, where it is the world leader in helicopter flight control; optronics and air-land systems, where it is the European leader in surveillance and fire-control optronics; and the field of security, where it is the world leader in fingerprint-based biometrics. 
 
Its equipment and integrated systems are used worldwide, helping to ensure air transport safety, secure data transmission, personal security and governmental defense capabilities at the highest level. Through the SAFRAN Group, Sagem Défense Sécurité is present on all continents.