Paris: France and Italy ordered the next generation of the SAMP/T air-defence system as they seek better protection against threats including hypersonic missiles, with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu touting the “fully European” nature of the system.
Lecornu announced an order for eight SAMP/T NG systems, with the first ones to enter the armed forces in 2026, while Italy ordered ten systems, the country’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said. Neither country provided a value for the order, though France included a spending authorisation of €674 million (US$750 million) for the purchase in its 2024 military budget.
The French are still smarting from Germany proposing Diehl Defence’s IRIS-T and the US-made Patriot as the backbone of the European Sky Shield Initiative, rather than the SAMP/T developed by Thales and missile maker MBDA. The next-generation upgrade gives the French-Italian system an intercept range of more than 150 kilometers, similar to the range reported for RTX’s Patriot, and improved capability to intercept hypersonic missiles.
“This fully European system is capable of dealing with more significant threats, in particular short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, including hypersonic,” the French Armed Forces Ministry said. “European air defence is central to the security of all Europeans.”
French President Emmanuel Macron last year warned against European countries rushing to buy air-defence capabilities in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that purchasing off-the-shelf would mean buying a lot of equipment from outside the continent.
“We have ordered ten SAMP/T new-generation systems and we are improving the Aster missile,” Crosetto said. “Like the French we are focusing on national security.”
Italy earlier this year already signed a contract for four of the systems with Europe’s Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation, with main contractor Eurosam saying the system would be delivered from 2025. OCCAR last year signed for the purchase of five SAMP/T NG systems for the Italian Air Force, with a value of about €700 million.
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