French Rafale Jet to Get its Biggest Bomb, the 1000kg AASM

The French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) pronounced the qualification of the AASM 1000 GS bomb (modular air-to-ground armament) of 1,000 kg propelled with GPS and inertial guidance.
The AASM 1000 is one of the new capabilities of the Rafale F4 standard, whose qualification of the first increment (F4.1) is scheduled by the end of January. It will be used by the Air and Space Force and the French Navy from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, a DGA release said.
The Rafale fighter jet to the F4.1 standard will be able to carry up to three AASM 1000 (one ventral and one under each wing). The delivery of the first kits was initiated in the wake of this qualification and must continue in 2023.
The AASM 1000 is intended to be adapted to historical high-power bomb bodies (Mk84 and BLU109 bomb bodies), but also to the new ongoing developments of the French company ARESIA (BA84 and P1000 bomb bodies).
It consists of a GPS and inertial guidance kit and a range increase kit. The latter, which uses a thruster, allows a significant extension of the firing range compared to an unpropelled munition. These two kits are directly derived from the latest version of the AASM 250 and suitable for 1,000 kg bombs.
The AASM 250 ammunition (250 kg version), in service with the French army since 2008, has been successfully tested in combat in various theaters of operation.

This new version of the AASM is being developed by Safran Electronics & Defense as part of an €85 million contract awarded by the DGA in 2017.