Denmark to receive first SAMP/T NG air-defense system in 2028

PARIS — Denmark will receive the French-Italian SAMP/T NG air-defense system starting in 2028 after orders were signed in the first quarter of this year, according to French defense firm Thales, which will supply the radar for the Danish system.

The Danish version of the system will be equipped with the Thales Ground Fire 300 radar, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The purchase officially makes Denmark the third country to join the club of SAMP/T NG clients, alongside France and Italy, Thales said.

Denmark in September picked the SAMP/T system over the American-made Patriot. That decision looks increasingly fortuitous after the United States government flagged possible delays linked to the Iran war in deliveries of weapons and ammunition to the Baltic countries, and after Switzerland said in March it faces delays in Patriot deliveries of four to five years.

“Denmark will benefit from the increased production capacity for the SAMP/T NG system and the production of Aster missiles, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2028,” Thales said.

Missile maker MBDA plans to double production of the Aster family of air-defense missiles in 2026 in response to surging demand. In addition to arming the ground-based SAMP/T system, the missiles are used for high-end air defense by the French, Italian and British navies. MBDA declined to comment on the timing of delivering Aster missiles to Denmark.

Thales recorded the Danish SAMP/T contract as one of its “large orders” with a value of more than €100 million (US$118 million) in the first quarter, with the French company supplying the radar and command-and-control system as well as the seeker for the Aster missile.

The SAMP/T system is made by Eurosam, a joint venture between Thales and MBDA’s French and Italian branches. The upgraded system will work with MBDA’s Aster 30 Block 1 New Technology interceptor, with a range of 150 kilometers, a new Ka-band seeker and designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic missiles.

The first test firing of the updated Aster missile was conducted in October 2024 in a “complex scenario” with several targets, with a second qualification firing in July 2025 to validate the interceptor’s long-range capability. The fire-control unit of the SAMP/T NG received new software to work with the Aster 30 B1NT missile.

The Thales Ground Fire radar family has a claimed range of up to 400 kilometers with 360° coverage, using a rotating S-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna. The company says the radar and its associated power generator are standard-container sized and can be set up in less than 15 minutes.

After Italy and France ordered ten and eight of the next-generation systems in September 2024, respectively, the Italian Army took delivery of its first SAMP/T NG in January. The Italian version comes equipped with Leonardo’s Kronos Grand Mobile HP radar, with an air-surveillance instrument range of at least 300 kilometers.

France’s Air Warfare Center received its first system in February, kicking off a period of operational testing, to be “quickly followed” by gradual integration of SAMP/T NG into the French armed forces. The center, known by its French acronym CEAM, will test aspects including mobility, energy autonomy and integration of the new system into an air-defense chain.

Ukraine expects to receive a SAMP/T NG system this year and will start testing it against ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in March.

Switzerland said in March it would acquire a second model of long-range air-defense system , preferably produced in Europe, in the face of delayed delivery of its previously ordered Patriot systems. SAMP/T is the only European alternative to Patriot.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands rushed through a Patriot order in March to avoid losing its production spot, which the country said could push delivery back to 2033.

Turkey will resume talks with Italy about buying the SAMP/T system, including technology transfer and joint production, Turkish pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak reported earlier this month, without saying where it got the information. That’s after NATO air defenses in March intercepted at least four ballistic missiles from Iran that entered Turkish airspace.

After Turkey signed a declaration of intent with Italy and France in 2017 to strengthen cooperation in jointly producing air-defense systems, France stalled progress in response to Turkish operations in Syria in 2019. Buying the SAMP/T system would give Turkey a NATO-compatible ballistic-missile defense capability.

Thales reported seven large orders with a unit value of more than €100 million in the first quarter, including the Danish SAMP/T order, for a total amount of €1.62 billion. The company’s overall first-quarter order intake rose 23% to €4.65 billion, while sales climbed 7.2% to €5.32 billion, Thales reported on Tuesday.

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——据法国国防公司泰雷兹称，丹麦将于2028年开始接收法国-意大利联合研制的SAMP/T NG防空系统，订单已于今年第一季度签署。泰雷兹还将为丹麦的防空系统提供雷达。

泰雷兹公司周二在一份声明中表示，丹麦版该系统将配备泰雷兹地面火力300雷达。泰雷兹称，此次采购使丹麦正式成为继法国和意大利之后，第三个加入SAMP/T NG客户行列的国家。

丹麦在9月份选择了SAMP/T系统而非美国制造的“爱国者”导弹防御系统。鉴于美国政府曾表示，由于伊朗战争的影响，向波罗的海国家交付武器弹药可能会出现延误；瑞士也在3月份表示，“爱国者”导弹系统的交付将面临四到五年的延迟，丹麦的这一决定现在看来愈发明智。

泰雷兹公司表示：“丹麦将受益于SAMP/T NG系统产能的提升以及阿斯特导弹的生产，预计将于2028年开始交付。”

为应对激增的需求，导弹制造商MBDA计划在2026年将“紫菀”（Aster）系列防空导弹的产量翻一番。除了装备陆基SAMP/T系统外，这些导弹还被法国、意大利和英国海军用于高端防空作战。MBDA拒绝就向丹麦交付“紫菀”导弹的时间发表评论。

泰雷兹公司将丹麦 SAMP/T 合同列为其第一季度价值超过 1 亿欧元（1.18 亿美元）的“大订单”之一，这家法国公司为 Aster 导弹提供雷达、指挥控制系统以及导引头。

SAMP/T系统由Eurosam公司制造，该公司是泰雷兹集团与MBDA公司法国和意大利分公司的合资企业。升级后的系统将与MBDA公司的Aster 30 Block 1新型拦截弹配合使用，该拦截弹射程150公里，配备新型Ka波段导引头，旨在拦截中程弹道导弹和高超音速导弹。

升级后的“紫菀”导弹于2024年10月在包含多个目标的“复杂场景”下进行了首次试射，并于2025年7月进行了第二次鉴定性试射，以验证该拦截导弹的远程拦截能力。SAMP/T NG的火控单元已更新软件，以与“紫菀”30 B1NT导弹配合使用。

泰雷兹地面火力雷达系列产品声称探测距离可达400公里，覆盖范围达360°，采用旋转式S波段有源相控阵（AESA）天线。该公司表示，该雷达及其配套发电机尺寸与标准集装箱相当，可在15分钟内完成安装。

继意大利和法国分别于2024年9月订购了10套和8套下一代SAMP/T NG系统后，意大利陆军于1月份接收了其首套该系统。意大利版SAMP/T NG配备了莱昂纳多公司的Kronos Grand Mobile HP雷达，其空中监视探测距离至少为300公里。

法国空战中心于2月接收了首套系统，由此开启了作战测试阶段，随后将“迅速”把SAMP/T NG逐步整合到法国武装部队中。该中心（法语简称CEAM）将测试包括机动性、能源自主性以及新系统与防空体系的整合等各个方面。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基在3月份表示，乌克兰预计将于今年接收一套SAMP/T NG系统，并将开始对其进行反弹道导弹测试。

瑞士在3月份表示，由于此前订购的“爱国者”防空系统交付延迟，瑞士将采购第二种远程防空系统，并优先考虑欧洲制造的型号。SAMP/T是目前欧洲唯一可替代“爱国者”系统的防空系统。

与此同时，荷兰在 3 月份匆忙订购了一批“爱国者”导弹防御系统，以避免失去其生产份额。该国表示，失去生产份额可能会将交付时间推迟到 2033 年。

据土耳其亲政府报纸《新曙光报》本月初报道，土耳其将重启与意大利就购买SAMP/T防空导弹系统进行的谈判，谈判内容包括技术转让和联合生产。但该报并未透露消息来源。此前，北约防空系统在3月份拦截了至少四枚进入土耳其领空的伊朗弹道导弹。

2017年，土耳其与意大利和法国签署了一份意向声明，旨在加强在联合生产防空系统方面的合作。2019年，由于土耳其在叙利亚的军事行动，法国暂停了该项目的进展。购买SAMP/T系统将使土耳其拥有与北约兼容的弹道导弹防御能力。

泰雷兹公司公布，第一季度获得七笔单价超过1亿欧元的大额订单，其中包括丹麦SAMP/T订单，总金额达16.2亿欧元。该公司周二发布的数据显示，第一季度总订单量增长23%至46.5亿欧元，销售额增长7.2%至53.2亿欧元。

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。