Crotale NG entered production in 1990 and is in service with the Finnish Army (20 systems), the French Air Force (12 shelter-mounted systems) and the French Navy. Thales signed a contract with Greece in June 1999 for 11 Crotale NG systems, nine for the Air Force and two for the Navy. The system has also been sold to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

A data exchange capability provides integration of the Crotale NG into a global air defence scheme. A platoon of four Crotale NG units can be operated in coordinated mode using the automated computer-to-computer data exchange. According to the threat assessment and the relative positions of the four units, the target is engaged by the unit in the best position.

The Crotale NG VT1 missile features a high level of manoeuvrability with load factors up to 35 g up to 8 km with the airframe capable of withstanding 50 g. Speed is Mach 3.5, using a solid propellant rocket motor. The VT1 has an effective range of about 11 km and ceiling of over 6,000 m.

The Command to Line Of Sight (CLOS) guidance uses radar and electro-optical sensors. The missile is armed with a focused blast and fragmentation warhead, initiated by an RF proximity fuse. The warhead provides a lethal blast radius of 8 m. Typical interception time from firing to airborne target destruction at a distance of 8 km is 10.3 seconds.

The Crotale NG is equipped with a multi-sensor suite including passive electro-optics and radar with built-in electronic counter countermeasures (ECCM) to engage airborne targets under adverse conditions of dense electronic warfare and hostile battlefield environments of nuclear, biological and chemical warfare (NBC) and smoke and dust screens. The elements of the sensor suite are:

S-band pulse doppler surveillance radar, with sectored surveillance, search-on-the-move, and built-in IFF antenna. The ECCM features are low side lobes, frequency agility, pulse compression, CFAR (Constant False Alarm Rate) and strobe on jam. The range is 20 km with altitude coverage from 0 to 5,000 m.

Ku-band TWT (travelling wave tube) single pulse doppler tracking radar, with a beam width of 1.20 degrees. The ECCM features are low side lobes, frequency agility, pulse compression, CFAR, and jammer tracking. The range is up to 30 km

Thermal camera, with dual field of view and electronic magnification providing 8.1 or 2.7 degrees in azimuth and 5.4 or 1.8 degrees in elevation. The range is up to 19 km.

Daylight CCD camera, with field of view 2.4 degrees in azimuth and 1.8 degrees in elevation. The range is up to 15 km.

Infrared (IR) localiser is mounted below the CCD camera for missile gathering.

All functions from target detection to target tracking are automated to achieve reduced reaction times. The reaction time is typically 6 seconds between first detection and launch of the missile. Once the missile is fired, the operational software selects the best missile tracking sensor according to data being supplied from all sensors. The operator has the option of overriding the sensor automatically selected by the operational software.