While the new generation land-based medium-range anti-aircraft system SAMP/T NG Franco-Italian must soon be delivered to the French and Italian armies, the Ministers of Defense of the two countries, Sébastien Lecornu and Guido Crosetto, have taken the initiative of get directly involved in support the new system on the international scene.
It must be said that it is the IRIS-T SLM and the American Patriot which have taken the lion's share in recent years in this area, in particular due to the European Shield initiative launched by Berlin two years, the SAMP/T only managing to establish itself, for export, in Singapore, in 2013.
But things could change! Indeed, with the arrival of the new SAMP/T NG, much more efficient and versatile than the Mamba, and the demonstrated performance of the SAMP/T and the Aster missile in Ukraine and the Red Sea, the only European medium-range anti-aircraft system , now has all the cards to meet the challenge. And this, especially since, as the French and Italian ministers affirm, the SAMP/T NG is now more efficient than the American Patriot!
In this section:
The new performances and capabilities of the SAMP/T NG
If the SAMP/T NG capitalizes on the achievements of the Mamba, particularly with the Aster family missiles, the new system considerably extends its capabilities. First, by replacing the Arabel radar with the Groud Master 300 from Thales for France, and the Kronos from Leonardo for Italy.
These two new radars offer detection performance significantly superior to the previous model, making it possible to extend the detection envelope up to 350 km, thanks to their new AESA antennas and increased power, in particular.
In addition to the radar, and the modernization of the control station, the main advance of the SAMP/T NG is based on its modularity, allowing it to control not only the six TEL (Transport Erector Launcher) for Aster missiles, i.e. 48 medium and long range, but also six other TELs for short and medium range VL MICA or CAMM missiles, as well as their respective firing radars.
In doing so, the SAMP/T NG becomes an integrated multi-layer air defense system, capable of dealing with a large number of threats, ranging from drones to ballistic missiles, including cruise missiles, planes and helicopters. A capability that is currently unique in the West, and which is only partially found in the Russian S-300, S-400 and S-500 systems.
The anti-ballistic, anti-missile and anti-aircraft capabilities of the Aster 15/30 missile demonstrated in the Red Sea and Ukraine
The other argument put forward for the SAMP/T NG is none other than the excellent results obtained by the Mamba in Ukraine, as well as by the Aster 15 and 30 missiles on board French, Italian and British frigates and destroyers. , in the Red Sea.
Thus, the first SAMP/T battery sent by Rome to Ukraine quickly demonstrated that it had nothing to envy of the Patriot batteries sent by the United States and several European countries to the Ukrainian defenders.
Subtly, in a few months, the official discourse of the Ukrainian authorities, who until then had exclusively demanded more Patriot batteries, evolved to simultaneously demand, and with the same insistence, additional Mamba batteries. Unfortunately for Kyiv, the limited distribution of users of this system reduces transfer opportunities, even if a second battery has since been sent to Ukraine.
However, it is the performance of the Aster 15 and 30 missiles on board the combat ships of the French Navy, Royal Navy and Marina Militare, which have hit the headlines the most in recent months. And for good reason !
Indeed, European missiles managed to shoot down a large number of attack drones and anti-ship cruise missiles launched by the Houthi rebels against naval, military and civilian traffic in the Red Sea. It is also in this theater that the Aster 30 missile obtained its credentials, by intercepting Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles on several occasions, demonstrating that the missile was, at least, as efficient as the Patriot
Aster 15 EC and Block 1NT: the new generation of the Aster missile is arriving soon
Despite the demonstrated performance of the current Aster family, MBDA, its European designer, is preparing the arrival of two new models, which will further extend its interception capabilities.
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