France has taken a new step in the modernization of its nuclear deterrent with the development of the ASN4Gyour future hypersonic nuclear cruise missile. The country’s defense procurement agency has awarded MBDA the contract for this new weapon which should enter service around 2035 and replace the current one ASMPA-Rthe most recent version of the nuclear cruise missile that France launches from aircraft and is still in service today.
The contract was formally notified on June 2 by the General Directorate of ArmamentsDGA by its French acronym. With this, the program leaves behind years of studies and research and is now entering the large-scale development phase.
The ASN4G, French acronym for Fourth generation air-to-ground nuclear missilewill be the next air-launched nuclear weapon in the Armed forces French. MBDA, the European missile manufacturer controlled by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardwill be in charge of developing it within the military modernization plans that France has set for the period 2024-2030. The company has been working with ONERAthe French aerospace research center, in the possible designs of this missile that will have a speed of at least Mach 5, 6,175 km/h.
(#Programme 🚀) The DGA commands the development of the ASN4G hypersonic missile to MBDA
The DGA notified, on June 2, 2026, @MBDAGroup, the agreement between the development team and the development of the Air-Sol missile nuclear power plant of four generations #ASN4G ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4kRTzdNOh1
— General direction of arms 🇫🇷 (@DGA) June 12, 2026
The relief is not immediate, but it does respond to a clear concern. As air defenses improve around the world, Paris considers it necessary to have a faster weapon, more difficult to intercept and capable of maintaining the credibility of its nuclear deterrent for decades to come.
According to the DGA, the speed of ASN4G will be key to maintaining that capacity in the face of increasingly advanced threats. The French agency describes the program as an important technological leap and highlights that it depends on industrial capacities that They are only available to a few countries.
Stealth or hypersonic nuclear missile
French researchers studied two possible paths for ASN4G for years. One was going to develop a missile sneakierdesigned to reduce its detection by radar. The other was betting on a hypersonic solutionwith much more speed and maneuverability.
According to The Avionist, France has opted for this second option. A missile that flies at extreme speeds and can maneuver during the journey reduces the adversary’s reaction margin, complicates its tracking by radar and makes it much more difficult to intercept by air defenses.
Technical details remain classified, but some experts believe that ASN4G could resort to scramjet propulsionalso known as a supersonic combustion ramjet. This technology would allow it to reach speeds much higher than those of the ASMPA-R, the missile it will replace, capable of reaching Mach 3 and with an approximate range of 500 kilometers.
The DGA has also released a new image of the technological demonstrator Themis. In it you see a vehicle with wings rising with the help of two rocket boostersalthough the French authorities have not specified when or where the test took place. It should be noted that Thémis is not the ASN4G, but a test vehicle used to test some of the solutions that could end up being applied to the future missile. The DGA has shown it associated with the program, although it has not clarified to what extent its design anticipates the final appearance of the weapon that France wants to put into service around 2035.
It will be launched by the future Rafale F5 fighter
The ASN4G is being developed together with the future fighter Rafale F5whose entry into service is scheduled around 2030. When it enters service, the missile will be used by both branches of the French nuclear air force. It is about the Strategic Air ForcesFAS, which constitute the nuclear component of the Air and Space Army French, and Naval Air Force NuclearFANU, which operates Rafale M fighters from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
The ASN4G contract comes at a time when France is giving more importance to the air component of its nuclear deterrence strategy. On March 2, the president Emmanuel Macron announced a new deterrence plan that could include the deployment of nuclear-capable Rafale aircraft to allied bases across Europe. France is also increasing its nuclear air force and The FAS plans to double the number of squadrons with nuclear capabilities by 2035.