Captured 2026-09-18 from repo1.maven.org (Maven Central), not an aggregator or blog.

--- org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter-aop/maven-metadata.xml ---
<latest>4.0.0-M2</latest>
<release>4.0.0-M2</release>
... version list ends at:
  <version>3.5.16</version>
  <version>4.0.0-M1</version>
  <version>4.0.0-M2</version>
</versions>
<lastUpdated>20260625105758</lastUpdated>

--- org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter-aspectj/maven-metadata.xml ---
<latest>4.2.0-M1</latest>
<release>4.2.0-M1</release>
... version list starts at:
  <version>4.0.0-M3</version>
  <version>4.0.0-RC1</version>
  <version>4.0.0-RC2</version>
  <version>4.0.0</version>
  <version>4.0.1</version>
  ...
  <version>4.1.0</version>
  <version>4.1.1</version>
  <version>4.2.0-M1</version>
</versions>
<lastUpdated>20260820133928</lastUpdated>

Reading the two lists together: spring-boot-starter-aop's last-ever release is 4.0.0-M2.
spring-boot-starter-aspectj's first-ever release is 4.0.0-M3 -- the very next milestone in the
4.0 line. It then carries through 4.0.0-RC1, RC2, the 4.0.0 GA, every 4.0.x and 4.1.x patch, and
into the 4.2.0-M1 pre-release. That is a rename at a specific milestone boundary, not two
unrelated artifacts and not a starter that was dropped with nothing replacing it.