France orders seven additional SAMP/T NG air defense systems

France has confirmed a new contract for the production of seven additional SAMP/T NG air defense missile systems.

The new contract will bring the total number of these air defense systems to eight. The contract was awarded with the support of OCCAR-EA and marks the transition to full-scale serial production of SAMP/T NG.

The order is another step in the modernization of Europe’s medium-range ground-based air defense system, which has been progressing since 2021, following the order for the development of the SAMP/T NG and the production of the first system.

The contract value for seven SAMs is estimated at €500 million.

The French military expects to receive 12 combat systems by 2035. Additional orders for 4 systems are planned to be placed by 2027.

The system will be able to be used in a complex cyber environment, in conditions of heavy civilian air traffic and will provide 360-degree protection of civilian or military facilities.

The Eurosam consortium will make a number of important improvements to the SAMP/T system, including the addition of an advanced Aster-30 Block 1 New Technology (B1 NT) missile, which will enable it to counter new threats at a longer range.

The SAMP/T NG system is being jointly developed by Italian and French defense companies.

Missile and radar

Each French SAMP/T NG system will be based on the Thales GF300 multifunctional circular-loop active phased array radar with electronic scanning and the Thales New Generation Engagement Module (ME-NG).

The ME-NG module is the core of the system. It was developed as part of a collaboration between Thales and MBDA Italy and features a common hardware and software architecture that allows for the integration of radars and munitions based on different types of ammunition.

The SAMP/T NG is expected to be able to shoot down air targets at a range of up to 150 kilometers (the list of air targets includes, among others, ballistic missiles with a range of up to 600 kilometers), and the range of target detection is stated to be up to 350 kilometers.

The first firing test of SAMP/T NG is currently scheduled to take place in October next year. The battery will consist of six launchers with 8 anti-aircraft missiles each, one radar and one control module.