Denmark picks French-Italian SAMP/T air defense system over Patriot

PARIS — Denmark plans to buy the French-Italian SAMP/T system to cover the long-range component of the integrated ground-based air defenses the country is building, picking the only European alternative to the U.S. Patriot.

The Danish government expects to invest around 58 billion kroner (U.S. $9.1 billion) to buy and operate eight medium- and long-range air defense systems, it said Friday, more than double a previously communicated budget of 19-25 billion kroner. Two of those eight systems will be SAMP/T, local broadcaster TV 2 reported .

The purchase will make Denmark the first European Union export customer for SAMP/T, with France and Italy the only users in the 27-nation bloc until now, compared to around seven EU countries that operate Patriot.

Ukraine has received at least two donated SAMP/T systems, with at least one in use to defend the Kyiv area.

“The war in Ukraine clearly demonstrates the need for a modern ground-based air defense system consisting of multiple integrated systems that provide multiple layers of airspace protection,” Danish Chief of Defence Gen. Michael Hyldgaard said in a statement.

Denmark already scrambled to put together a medium-range air defense component , drawing on three different systems: a Kongsberg NASAMS system, two MBDA VL MICA systems and an IRIS-T system from Germany’s Diehl Defence, with the first system expected to be operational from around end-2025.

The medium-range systems being acquired will be part of the total final eight, the Ministry of Defence said, with a choice for further medium-range components to be made between one or more systems from Kongsberg, MBDA and Diehl.

“The decision to go with more than one or two suppliers enables shorter delivery times,” said Lt. Gen. Per Pugholm Olsen, head of the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation. “This means that we can achieve our goal of a comprehensive ground-based air defense capacity as quickly as possible.”

The systems were picked based on a combination of operational, economic and strategic considerations, the government said.

Each of the eight systems Denmark is buying will typically consist of a radar, a fire-control unit, as well as one or more launchers with a number of missiles.

The European Commission has been pushing for EU countries to spend defense euros on the continent to strengthen the local arms industry and build a credible military deterrent.

Meanwhile, dependence on U.S. suppliers is seen as increasingly risky due to American disengagement from Europe and after President Donald Trump threatened NATO partners Denmark and Canada .

Air defense is a critical area where Europe needs to build up capacity, according to the European Commission’s defense white paper, as well as military leaders and analysts.

“There’s a use for big and bold decisions if we are to strengthen the armed forces’ combat capability and increase security for the Danish people,” Denmark’s Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen said in a social media post . “Therefore proud of the biggest investment ever made at 58 billion kroner for ground-based air defense, to be deployed across Denmark.”

The United States raised eyebrows among European defense acquisition departments last month by offering Denmark two Patriot systems enabled for the integrated battle command system for an estimated cost of $8.5 billion .

As part of the purchase of European air defense systems, Denmark is demanding offset agreements worth more than 10 billion kroner for the Danish defense industry, the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs said in a separate release .

The foreign suppliers may choose to buy defense equipment directly from Danish companies or set up partnerships to develop products and systems, the ministry said.

SAMP/T has been developed by Eurosam, a joint venture between Thales and MBDA’s French and Italian branches.

France has said it would like to discuss convergence with the Germany-led European Sky Shield Initiative, with the governments in Paris and Rome previously snubbing the initiative after Berlin proposed the Patriot system instead of SAMP/T for the long-range component. France last year signed a contract to start serial productions of the upgraded SAMP/T NG system.

The system can manage up to six vertical launchers, each fitted with eight Aster 30 B1 or B1NT missiles, or in combination with short-range air defense systems using VL MICA or CAMM-ER missiles for self-protection and nearby targets.

The system is fitted with a 360-degree active electronically scanned array radar, either from Thales or Leonardo, that can track missiles, aircraft and ballistic threats. Each launcher can fire its eight missiles in about 10 seconds, according to MBDA.

The new system has an official range of up to 150 kilometers against aircraft, and “excellent capability” against theater ballistic missiles, according to an MBDA fact sheet.

The Aster 30 missile weighs 450 kilograms with a length of 4.9 meters and is powered by a two-stage solid-propellant rocket motor, reaching a speed of Mach 4.5. The first stage separates a few seconds after the vertical launch.

The missile uses inertial guidance and updated target data in the initial phase, with an electromagnetic active seeker for the homing phase, and thrust vectoring for maneuverability. Aster has a proximity fuze and a blast-fragmentation warhead, which MBDA says is effective against hardened targets, including tactical ballistic missiles.

The SAMP/T can come in a French configuration using the Thales GF 300 radar and MICA VL short-range missiles, or an Italian version using the Kronos GMHP radar from Leonardo and the CAMM-ER short-range missile. Both use the Aster 30 for the long-range component.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——丹麦计划购买法国-意大利联合研制的SAMP/T系统，以覆盖该国正在建设的综合地面防空系统的远程部分，这是美国“爱国者”导弹系统的唯一欧洲替代品。

丹麦政府周五表示，预计将投资约580亿克朗（约合91亿美元）用于购买和运营8套中远程防空系统，这一数字是此前公布的190亿至250亿克朗预算的两倍多。据当地电视台TV 2报道，这8套系统中将有两套是SAMP/T系统。

此次收购将使丹麦成为 SAMP/T 的首个欧盟出口客户，此前，法国和意大利是欧盟 27 个国家中仅有的用户，而大约有 7 个欧盟国家运营 Patriot 系统。

乌克兰至少收到了两套捐赠的SAMP/T系统，其中至少有一套用于保卫基辅地区。

丹麦国防部长迈克尔·希尔德加德将军在一份声明中表示：“乌克兰战争清楚地表明，我们需要一个现代化的地面防空系统，该系统由多个集成系统组成，能够提供多层空域保护。”

丹麦已紧急组建中程防空部队，采用了三种不同的系统：康斯伯格公司的 NASAMS 系统、MBDA 公司的 VL MICA 系统和德国迪尔防务公司的 IRIS-T 系统，预计第一个系统将于 2025 年底左右投入使用。

国防部表示，此次采购的中程系统将是最终八个系统的一部分，后续中程组件的选择将在 Kongsberg、MBDA 和 Diehl 的一个或多个系统中做出。

丹麦国防部采购与后勤组织负责人佩尔·普霍尔姆·奥尔森中将表示：“选择多家供应商可以缩短交货时间。这意味着我们可以尽快实现建立全面地面防空能力的目标。”

政府表示，选择这些系统是基于运营、经济和战略等方面的综合考虑。

丹麦购买的八套系统中的每一套通常都包含一个雷达、一个火控单元以及一个或多个装有若干导弹的发射器。

欧盟委员会一直敦促欧盟各国将国防预算投入欧洲大陆，以加强当地军工产业并建立可靠的军事威慑力量。

与此同时，由于美国从欧洲撤军，以及唐纳德·特朗普总统威胁北约伙伴丹麦和加拿大，对美国供应商的依赖被认为越来越有风险。

根据欧盟委员会的国防白皮书以及军事领导人和分析人士的说法，防空是欧洲需要加强能力建设的关键领域。

丹麦国防大臣特罗尔斯·伦德·波尔森在社交媒体上发文称：“如果我们想要增强武装部队的作战能力，提高丹麦人民的安全，就需要做出大胆而果断的决策。因此，我为丹麦有史以来最大的地面防空投资——580亿克朗——感到自豪，这笔投资将部署在丹麦各地。”

上个月，美国向丹麦提供了两套可与集成作战指挥系统配合使用的“爱国者”导弹防御系统，预计耗资 85 亿美元，此举引起了欧洲国防采购部门的关注。

丹麦工业、商业和金融事务部在另一份声明中表示，作为购买欧洲防空系统的一部分，丹麦要求为丹麦国防工业提供价值超过 100 亿克朗的补偿协议。

该部表示，外国供应商可以选择直接从丹麦公司购买国防装备，或者建立合作伙伴关系来开发产品和系统。

SAMP/T 由 Eurosam 开发，Eurosam 是泰雷兹与 MBDA 的法国和意大利分公司合资成立的企业。

法国表示希望与德国主导的“欧洲天空盾牌”倡议进行合作，此前，由于柏林提议以“爱国者”系统取代SAMP/T作为远程防御组件，巴黎和罗马政府曾对该倡议不予理睬。法国去年签署了一份合同，开始批量生产升级后的SAMP/T NG系统。

该系统最多可管理六个垂直发射器，每个发射器可配备八枚 Aster 30 B1 或 B1NT 导弹，或与使用 VL MICA 或 CAMM-ER 导弹进行自卫和打击附近目标的短程防空系统结合使用。

该系统配备了泰雷兹或莱昂纳多公司生产的360度有源相控阵雷达，能够追踪导弹、飞机和弹道威胁。据MBDA公司称，每个发射器可在约10秒内发射8枚导弹。

根据MBDA公司的一份情况说明书，该新型系统对飞机的官方射程可达150公里，并且对战区弹道导弹具有“卓越的能力”。

Aster 30 导弹重 450 公斤，长 4.9 米，由两级固体推进剂火箭发动机提供动力，速度可达 4.5 马赫。第一级在垂直发射后几秒钟内分离。

该导弹在初始阶段采用惯性制导和更新后的目标数据，在归航阶段采用电磁主动导引头，并利用推力矢量控制实现机动。Aster导弹配备近炸引信和爆破破片战斗部，MBDA公司称其对包括战术弹道导弹在内的加固目标有效。

SAMP/T系统可采用两种配置：法式配置，使用泰雷兹GF 300雷达和MICA VL短程导弹；意式配置，使用莱昂纳多Kronos GMHP雷达和CAMM-ER短程导弹。两种配置的远程部分均采用Aster 30导弹。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。