Manufacturer catalog

Nord Aviation

Nord Aviation was a French state-owned aerospace and missile manufacturer active during the early Cold War. Its defense work joined aircraft production, target drones, tactical missiles, and guided anti-ship weapons, with MBDA tracing major European missile milestones to Nord programs such as SS.10, SS.11, AA.20, AS.20, AS.30, and Exocet MM38.

3 weapons

Nord Aviation emerged from the postwar consolidation of French aircraft and missile work. GlobalSecurity describes the company as formed on October 1, 1954, after SNCAN acquired SFECMAS, while MBDA places Nord's missile production base at Bourges and identifies the company as one of the two leading French missile-sector competitors by the end of the 1950s.

The company's missile work ranged from first-generation wire-guided anti-tank weapons to air-launched and naval missiles. MBDA says Nord mass-produced anti-tank missiles in Bourges, fielded Europe's first air-launched missile in the AA.20, converted that technology into the AS.20 and AS.30 air-to-ground missiles, and then developed the Exocet MM38 after Western navies saw the Soviet Styx anti-ship missile threat.

Guided missilesAnti-tank missilesAnti-ship missilesMilitary transport aircraftTarget drones

Notable Systems

Exocet MM38 anti-ship missile, Surface-launched anti-ship missile, Munitions

Exocet MM38 anti-ship missile

Surface-launched anti-ship missile

MBDA says Nord Aviation developed Exocet MM38 rapidly after Western navies identified a gap against Styx-class anti-ship missiles, with the first operational firing in 1971.

Sources: MBDA history: Nord missile lineage
SS.11 anti-tank missile, Wire-guided anti-tank missile, Munitions

SS.11 anti-tank missile

Wire-guided anti-tank missile

MBDA identifies SS.11 as one of the anti-tank missiles that followed SS.10, and Designation-Systems.net describes SS.11 as a Nord-developed wire-guided anti-armour missile later used in U.S. service as AGM-22.

Sources: MBDA history: Nord missile lineage, Designation-Systems.net: Aérospatiale (Nord) SS.11/AGM-22

Manufacturer History

  1. Nord Aviation formed

    GlobalSecurity describes Nord Aviation as created after SNCAN acquired SFECMAS, combining state aircraft production with a specialized missile-design inheritance.

    Sources: GlobalSecurity: Nord Aviation

  2. AA.20 enters French Air Force service

    MBDA identifies the Nord Aviation AA.20 as Europe's first air-launched missile and says it entered French Air Force service using wire-guided technology.

    Sources: MBDA history: Nord missile lineage

  3. Transall concept begins

    Airbus says the Transall project began when Nord-Aviation proposed a cargo aircraft to replace the French Air Force's aging Noratlas, leading to a Franco-German production partnership.

    Sources: Airbus: The Transall Turns 60

  4. Merged into Aérospatiale

    GlobalSecurity records Nord Aviation's 1970 merger with Sud Aviation to create SNIAS, later renamed Aérospatiale; Airbus histories place Nord among the predecessor companies behind the later European aerospace group.

    Sources: GlobalSecurity: Nord Aviation, Airbus: The Transall Turns 60

  5. Exocet MM38 operational firing

    MBDA says Nord Aviation developed Exocet MM38 in record time and performed the first operational firing in 1971.

    Sources: MBDA history: Nord missile lineage

Predecessors
Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord (SNCAN)Société française d'étude et de construction de matériels aéronautiques spéciaux (SFECMAS)
Successors
Société Nationale Industrielle AérospatialeAérospatiale
Website links
MBDA historyAirbus Transall historyGlobalSecurity Nord Aviation background

Nord Aviation no longer operates as a separate company. Public sources describe its programs through successor-company histories, defense reference works, and surviving system documentation.

Manufacturer Sources

  • MBDA history: Nord missile lineagePublisher: MBDA | Note: Supports Nord Aviation's missile-sector role, Bourges anti-tank missile production, AA.20, AS.20/AS.30 derivation, Franco-German missile cooperation, and Exocet MM38 development. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Airbus: The Transall Turns 60Publisher: Airbus | Note: Supports Nord-Aviation's role proposing the Transall replacement for Noratlas and the later Franco-German production partnership. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • GlobalSecurity: Nord AviationPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports Nord Aviation formation from SNCAN and SFECMAS, Bourges background, state-owned context, and the 1970 SNIAS/Aérospatiale merger. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Designation-Systems.net: Aérospatiale (Nord) SS.11/AGM-22Publisher: Designation-Systems.net | Note: Supports the SS.11's Nord development lineage, U.S. AGM-22 designation, production quantity, and technical background. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Wikimedia Commons: Exocet MM38.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and Creative Commons licensing for the Exocet MM38 museum photograph. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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Exocet MM38 anti-ship cruise missile, Ship- and ground-launched anti-ship cruise missile, Munitions1982 Falklands WarExocet MM38 anti-ship cruise missileShip- and ground-launched anti-ship cruise missileBuilt in: FranceThe Exocet MM38 is the original French surface-launched Exocet anti-ship cruise missile, developed by Nord Aviation and fielded from ships before later coastal adaptations. MBDA identifies MM38 as a fire-and-forget, sea-skimming design, while Falklands War sources document Argentine technicians adapting ship-launched MM38 missiles into an improvised shore battery that struck HMS Glamorgan on June 12, 1982.