In the wake of last week's ballistic missile defence charm offensive by US President George W Bush, a European company has successfully test-fired a missile that could form the basis of a protective shield for the continent. The Anglo-French-Italian "MBDA in Formation" successfully carried out a test interception of its Aster 30 air-defence missile at the Landes test centre on the French Atlantic coast just a few days before the show opened. "We have a big asset in the Aster family of missiles," says MBDA chief executive Fabrice Bergier. "This test confirms the success of the PAAMS family of missiles, which could be developed into an anti-ballistic missile defence system for Europe." The Aster tests were carried out against two targets fitted with powerful jamming suites and flying in formation towards the launch battery. According to the company, the missile was fired with the two targets approaching from 15km range. Ignoring the jamming, it headed for the designated target and destroyed it with a direct hit.
Source: Flight Daily News