Missile AS.30

The AS-30 is an air-to-ground precision attack missile designed for use against targets such as bridges and bunkers. Developed in the 1960s, the missile is a larger derivative of the earlier AS-20 design.

The missile features four large, steeply swept-back cruciform fins around its midsection and four smaller rear fins to increase flight stability. Propulsion is provided by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket motor. A short-burn booster exhausts through two nozzles located between the main fins, followed by a longer-burn sustainer exhausting through a central rear nozzle. The initial AS-30 variant uses Manual Command to Line of Sight (MCLOS) guidance. The pilot visually tracks the missile via rear-mounted flares and transmits steering corrections via a radio link joystick. These commands actuate four metal vanes around the sustainer nozzle to achieve thrust vectoring, with an internal gyroscope providing flight position data. The AS-30L variant replaces this system with semi-active laser homing guidance, which allows autonomous flight to the target after launch. Visually distinguished by a blunted nose rather than the sharp nose of the original variant, the AS-30L permits stand-off attacks using either airborne or ground-based laser designators.

The missile system has been operated by Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iraq, Peru, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

In March 1971, the South African Air Force deployed AS-30 missiles from Blackburn Buccaneers in an unsuccessful attempt to sink the SS Wafra. During the 1982 Falklands War, Peru transferred its inventory of AS-30 missiles to Argentina. Iraq deployed the AS-30L from Mirage F1 aircraft during the Iran–Iraq War. French SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft launched approximately 60 AS-30L missiles during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Deliberate Force, with a claimed hit rate of 97 percent. French Super Étendard naval aircraft later deployed the AS-30L during Opération Harmattan in Libya, after the system had been retired from service with the French Air Force.