The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, traveled to Biscarosse, in the south-west of France, on Tuesday to witness the first test firing of an Aster surface-to-air missile. This move was announced by Lecornu via publications on his official account on the social network “X”.
“This morning in Biscarosse, we are carrying out the first test firing of the future Aster missile which will equip the SAMP-T/NG system,” said Lecornu. This Franco-Italian defense program is developed by Eurosam, a business interest group.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces website specifies that the new generation medium-range ground-to-air system (SAMP/NG) is capable of intercepting various types of aerial threats, including planes, drones and missiles. It offers radar coverage of more than 350 km and improved handling of long-range ballistic threats.
Sébastien Lecornu highlighted the importance of ground-to-air defense in current conflicts, such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East. “From Ukraine to the Middle East, current conflicts illustrate how key ground-to-air defense is,” he said. He also addressed the issue of France’s arms sales to Israel.
According to Lecornu, “France does not deliver weapons to Israel.” He explained that only defensive system components, such as position sensors or ball bearings, are delivered. These components can be part of systems like Iron Dome, which protects civilians. Lecornu added that Israeli industry competes with that of France and that the IDF does not need French industry to arm itself.
“No one wants to disarm Israel for its defense: it is legitimate,” affirmed the minister, while wondering: “The only question that now arises: are we at the dawn of a regionalization of the conflict? France’s duty is to avoid it.” Lecornu concluded by saying: “You have to know how to end a war.”
