Fascinating thread for my English speaking colleagues not to miss. FS Languedoc shot down two drones yesterday, using two of its sixteen Aster 15 SAM. @AudrandS understands that’s about 2 million euros spent on threats probably worth less than 10% of that.
Surely that’s a better outcome than losing a warship, not to mention its crew, but that does not alter one essential fact: having to spend an eighth of your SAM (and two millions bucks!) to counter a low level threat is simply UNSUSTAINABLE for your average European naval force.
As far as the #MarineNationale is concerned, this situation is made more dire by at least three factors: limited training in the use of « complex ammo », limited number of VLS packed with SAM and complete absence of cost-effective AD solutions (CWIS, quad-packed VLS…).
Further down the line, the introduction RAPIDFire 40mm naval guns will help with *some* of those (as well as perhaps replacing some Aster 15 with cheaper, smaller Mica VL missiles) but the truth is there’s only so much you can do with 32 VLS…
And platforms kept close or under the 6,000t threshold, particularly in contested environments. Soon enough the choice will be to either avoid these areas - but then, what’s your navy for? - or risk an HMS Sheffield like tragedy.
If only Asters cost €1m each. The reality is they cost more than €3.5m