Sagem has signed a contract with the Egyptian Ministry of Defense’s arms authority to deliver armement air-sol modulaire (AASM) Hammer air-to-ground missiles for the country’s air force.
AASM Hammer is a new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon designed and manufactured by Sagem.
The new contract covers all three versions of the AASM Hammer such as hybrid inertial / GPS guidance, inertial / GPS and terminal infrared guidance, and inertial / GPS plus laser terminal guidance.
Sagem is expected to supply the first AASM Hammer missiles, along with associated support services by the end of 2016.
The 3m-long AASM weapon system weighs 330kg, has a range of more than 60km at high altitudes and 15km at low altitudes, and has fire and forget capability, with an extended stand-off capacity.
In addition, the missile is capable of conducting all-weather, day / night precision ground strikes against fixed or moving targets.
The missile consists of a guidance kit and a range extension kit. The kits are fitted with Mk82 warheads, including smart bomb unit (SBU)-38, SBU-64 and SBU-54.
Operations with 125kg, 250kg, 500kg and 1,000kg bomb bodies are supported by the easy-to-use missile. It can also be reprogrammed during the flight.
With the new delivery, Egypt’s Rafales are expected to achieve a significant operational advantage, Sagem stated.
In February this year, the Egyptian Government selected Dassault Aviation to supply Rafale multi-role combat aircraft to the national air force.
The contract is valued at more than €5bn. It covers the supply of a total of 24 Rafale fighters, a Fremm multipurpose frigate, as well as undisclosed number of MBDA air-to-air missiles to the Egyptian Air Force.
Image: The AASM family of weapons. Photo: courtesy of Killersurprise64.
