France and Italy order upgraded SAMP/T air-defense systems

PARIS and ROME — France and Italy ordered the next generation of the SAMP/T air-defense 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 Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Tuesday. Neither country provided a value for the order, though France included a spending authorization 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 U.S.-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 (93 miles), 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 defense is central to the security of all Europeans.”

French President Emmanuel Macron last year warned against European countries rushing to buy air-defense 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.

Lecornu and Crosetto attended a conference on European air and missile defense organized by Italy in Rome, after a similar meeting in Paris last year, and the French minister called for continuation of the effort ‘to deploy sovereign and innovative European technologies” with a third conference.

“We have ordered ten SAMP/T new-generation systems and we are improving the Aster missile,” Crosetto said on Tuesday. “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.

Italy confirmed in June it would send a second SAMP/T air defense battery to Ukraine in response to urgent appeals by Kyiv to help defeat Russian missile attacks. The battery due to be sent was one of five operated by Italy. At the time, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said Italy would not allow Ukraine to use Italian weaponry to strike targets inside Russia.

Italy and France jointly supplied a first battery to Ukraine last year that has been defending the Kyiv area. SAMP/T is a truck-based tactical antimissile system designed to destroy cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft and tactical ballistic missiles.

A complete SAMP/T NG system includes a radar providing 360-degree coverage with a range of more than 350 kilometers, a command-and-control module, and as many as six launchers, each fitted with eight Aster 30 missiles, with a battery typically requiring 20 crew members, according to the manufacturers. Each launcher can fire its eight missiles in about 10 seconds.

Discussing Italy’s new SAMP/T order, Crosetto said on Tuesday that European democracies were struggling to procure and produce weapons in a hurry.

“This is only the start and we are already late because we are not ready to face today’s challenge,” he said, adding, “We are slow because we live in a world of democracies that will always lose out to dictatorships.”

France aims to have eight SAMP/T NG systems by the end of 2030, with a goal of 12 systems around 2035. The defense committee of the National Assembly in 2022 advised buying four more systems, saying the country needed a total of 16 to be able to meet its commitments. The French typically deploy several systems to secure major international events, such as the Paris Olympics.

The country plans to invest €5 billion to strengthen its air defenses as part of the 2024-2030 military planning law.

Swiss federal armaments office armasuisse also attended the conference in Rome, saying its aim for the visit was to discuss new technological developments in integrated air defense and the opportunities there, as well as possible future threats and challenges.

MBDA and Norway’s Kongsberg told armasuisse earlier this year that they won’t submit offers for a Swiss tender for a new medium-range air-defense system, leaving the door open for Diehl as the sole potential bidder.

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.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

巴黎和罗马——法国和意大利订购了下一代 SAMP/T 防空系统，以寻求更好地抵御包括高超音速导弹在内的威胁。法国武装部队部长塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努称赞该系统具有“完全欧洲化”的特性。

法国莱科尔努公司宣布订购8套SAMP/T NG系统，首批系统将于2026年交付法国军队。意大利国防部长圭多·克罗塞托周二表示，意大利也订购了10套该系统。两国均未透露订单金额，但法国已在其2024年军费预算中拨出6.74亿欧元（约合7.5亿美元）用于此次采购。

法国至今仍对德国提议以迪尔防务公司的IRIS-T和美国制造的“爱国者”导弹系统作为欧洲天空盾牌计划的核心，而非泰雷兹公司和导弹制造商MBDA联合开发的SAMP/T系统耿耿于怀。下一代升级后的法意联合研制的SAMP/T系统拦截距离超过150公里（93英里），与RTX公司“爱国者”导弹系统的射程相近，并且具备更强的拦截高超音速导弹的能力。

法国国防部表示：“这套完全由欧洲自主研发的系统能够应对更严重的威胁，特别是短程和中程弹道导弹，包括高超音速导弹。欧洲防空对所有欧洲人的安全至关重要。”

法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙去年警告欧洲各国不要急于购买防空能力以应对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，称购买现成装备意味着要从欧洲大陆以外购买大量设备。

莱科尔努和克罗塞托出席了由意大利在罗马组织的欧洲防空和导弹防御会议，此前他们曾在巴黎举行过类似的会议。法国部长呼吁继续努力“部署自主创新的欧洲技术”，并召开第三次会议。

克罗塞托周二表示：“我们已经订购了十套新一代SAMP/T系统，并且正在改进阿斯特导弹。和法国一样，我们也把重点放在国家安全上。”

意大利今年早些时候已与欧洲联合军备合作组织签署了一份合同，订购四套该系统。主承包商 Eurosam 表示，该系统将于 2025 年开始交付。去年，欧洲联合军备合作组织签署了一份为意大利空军购买五套 SAMP/T NG 系统的合同，价值约 7 亿欧元。

意大利6月确认，将向乌克兰派遣第二套SAMP/T防空导弹系统，以响应基辅方面提出的紧急援助请求，帮助抵御俄罗斯的导弹袭击。这套即将派遣的导弹系统是意大利拥有的五套SAMP/T系统之一。当时，意大利外长安东尼奥·塔亚尼表示，意大利不会允许乌克兰使用意大利武器打击俄罗斯境内的目标。

去年，意大利和法国联合向乌克兰提供了第一套SAMP/T反导系统，该系统一直在基辅地区执行防御任务。SAMP/T是一种卡车式战术反导系统，旨在摧毁巡航导弹、有人和无人驾驶飞机以及战术弹道导弹。

一套完整的SAMP/T NG系统包括一个可提供360度全方位覆盖、探测距离超过350公里的雷达、一个指挥控制模块，以及多达六个发射装置，每个发射装置配备八枚Aster 30导弹。据制造商称，一个导弹连通常需要20名操作人员。每个发射装置可在约10秒内发射八枚导弹。

克罗塞托周二在谈到意大利新的SAMP/T订单时表示，欧洲民主国家正在努力快速采购和生产武器。

“这仅仅是个开始，我们已经落后了，因为我们还没有准备好应对今天的挑战，”他说道，“我们行动迟缓，是因为我们生活在一个民主世界里，而民主世界总是会输给独裁政权。”

法国的目标是在2030年底前拥有8套SAMP/T NG系统，并在2035年前后达到12套。国民议会国防委员会在2022年建议再采购4套系统，并表示法国总共需要16套系统才能履行其承诺。法国通常会部署多套系统来保障重大国际活动的安全，例如巴黎奥运会。

作为 2024-2030 年军事规划法的一部分，该国计划投资 50 亿欧元加强其防空能力。

瑞士联邦军备办公室（armasuisse）也出席了在罗马举行的会议，并表示此次访问的目的是讨论综合防空领域的新技术发展及其带来的机遇，以及未来可能面临的威胁和挑战。

MBDA 和挪威的 Kongsberg 今年早些时候告诉瑞士军工企业，他们不会提交瑞士新中程防空系统招标的报价，这使得 Diehl 成为唯一的潜在竞标者。

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。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。