AASM

Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (Air-to-Ground Modular Weapon)
AASM family of weapons
Type	Precision-Guided Munition
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	2007
Used by	French Air Force French Naval Aviation Royal Moroccan Air Force Egyptian Air Force
Wars	War in Afghanistan ; 2011 Libyan civil war
Production history
Manufacturer	Sagem Défense Sécurité
Unit cost	€164,000(FY12) (~US$220,000)
Specifications (250 kg (550 lb) version)
Weight	340 kg (750 lb)
Length	3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Warhead	250 kg (550 lb) bomb body (Mk82, BLU 111 or CBEMS/BANG)
Engine	Solid rocket motor
Operational range	15 km (9 mi) at very low altitude 55 km (34 mi) at high altitude
Guidance system	Hybrid inertial/GPS in decametric all-weather version Hybrid inertial/GPS + infrared homing or SALH in metric day/night version
Accuracy	10 m (32 ft 10 in) CEP decametric version 1 m (3 ft 3 in) CEP metric version
Launch platform	Mirage 2000D Rafale

The Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (Air-to-Ground Modular Weapon) (AASM) "Hammer" is a French Precision-Guided Munition developed by Sagem Défense Sécurité. AASM comprises a frontal guidance kit and a rear-mounted range extension kit matched to a dumb bomb. The weapon is modular because it can integrate different types of guidance units and different types of bombs.

The basic version features a 250-kilogram (550 lb) bomb plus hybrid inertial navigation system (INS) / Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance. Other variants add infrared homing or laser guidance to increase accuracy; there are also versions with 125-kilogram (276 lb), 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) or 1,000-kilogram (2,200 lb) bomb bodies.

It entered service in 2007 with the French Air Force and Naval Aviation, from Rafale and Mirage 2000. In 2011, AASM was given the name HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range). Chosen for commercial reasons, the English acronym is also used in French. The French pronunciation of "AASM" was deux-A-S-M or A-deux-S-M.

The program started in 1997, when the Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (DGA), the French defense procurement agency, launched an international competition on the design for the weapon. In 2000, a contract was awarded to SAGEM for an initial lot of AASM GPS/INS bomb kits, expected at the time to be delivered from 2004 and to enter service the following year.

A test campaign to validate in flight the main performances of this AASM variant started on December 6, 2004 and ended on July 26, 2005.

While demonstrating excellent results, this campaign showed the need to change some of the aerodynamic features of the weapon. To compensate for delays in AASM deliveries in 2008 France ordered dual-mode (laser- and GPS/INS-guided) GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II kits for integration with Mirage 2000D and Rafale fighter-bombers. The GPS/INS + IIR guided version completed its qualification tests on July 9, 2008 after three firings at the DGA's missile test range in Biscarosse. This 250 kg IR version performed a night launch from a Rafale fighter-bomber at DGA's Biscarosse test range in December 2010.