France Approves License for Ukraine to Produce Aster 30 Missiles

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on July 13 that Ukraine will receive a license to produce Aster 30 missiles domestically. The announcement came at a press conference during the Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris, where 25 world leaders gathered. Macron stated that Ukraine will also receive licenses to produce AASM Hammer aerial bombs and SCALP cruise missiles.

Ukraine will get the first batch of SAMP/T missiles and 16 Rafale aircraft, with deliveries of SAMP/T and SAMP/T NG systems set to begin later in 2026 and the first Rafales planned for 2028-2029. The governments of Ukraine, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom announced the creation of an Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition at the same event.

The coalition will pool resources to develop new anti-ballistic missile defense capabilities.

Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed on a roadmap implementing bilateral defense cooperation agreed in principle in November 2025. France has already supplied tranches of Aster 30, AASM Hammer, and SCALP munitions to Ukraine. The move follows a similar announcement last week by U.S.

President Donald Trump that he would approve a license for Ukraine to domestically produce Patriot interceptors. Ukraine currently operates two baseline SAMP/T systems, one from France and one from Italy. Zelensky wrote on July 6 that insufficient supplies of interceptor missiles prevented interception of Russian ballistic missiles during a July 5-6 attack on Kyiv.

Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 strike drones at the city that night, with damage recorded at more than 10 locations including residential buildings.