Like Austria, Denmark is also pressing ahead with the expansion of its air defense capacities. It has now been announced that the country has acquired the French-Italian SAMP/T NG air defense system from the Eurosam joint venture of Thales and MBDA as the preferred solution.

SAMP/T NG is the latest generation of the SAMP/T system and will be delivered for the first time this year. It is specially designed for the protection of armed forces and sensitive civil and military infrastructures. The system offers 360-degree interception capability against a wide range of threats, including supersonic and hypersonic missiles and ballistic missiles.

With its powerful radar, SAMP/T NG can detect targets at ranges of more than 350 kilometers and combat threats at distances of around 150 kilometers and at altitudes of up to 25 kilometers. The system should also be able to intercept manoeuvrable medium-range ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 1,500 kilometers.

Structure of a SAMP/T NG battery

A SAMP/T NG battery consists of four main components:

  • Multifunction radar: either the Ground Master GF300 from Thales or the Kronos from Leonardo
  • Command module: a C2 battery command post in container design
  • Rocket launcher: up to six launchers, each of which can hold eight Aster 30 rockets (up to 48 ready-to-fire rockets in total)
  • Extended launch capacities: one battery can additionally integrate up to six launchers for medium-range missiles of the MICA-VL or CAMM-ER type

The personnel required to operate a complete battery is 20 people.

Weshalb die Fliegerabwehr so an Bedeutung gewinnt

Aster 30 B1NT: the system’s main weapon

The Aster 30 B1NT is a two-stage guided missile with a total weight of 450 kilograms and a length of 4.9 meters. It consists of:

  • Booster: provides the first acceleration, burns for 3.5 seconds and brings the rocket to around 1.4 km/s
  • Missile (Dart): weighs 110 kilograms and is equipped with a Ku-band pulse Doppler radar, a 15-kilogram fragmentation warhead, a control nozzle system (PIF-PAF) and a cruise engine with nozzle and rudders
  • Target acquisition & effect: the rocket is designed for direct hits, but also has a proximity fuse for detonation in the immediate vicinity of the target
Aster 30-Darts - ©Eurosam
The “hit-to-kill” capability of the Aster 30-Dart is a decisive factor in defending against enemy missiles. As their warheads cannot be reliably destroyed by fragmentation, a precise direct hit is essential for effective defense.

Orders and deployments of SAMP/T NG

  • France has ordered eight SAMP/T NG systems so far
  • Italy has increased its order to ten systems, as Defense Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed on 17 September
  • France has already delivered two SAMP/T Mamba systems to Ukraine (-> current news from the Ukraine war)
  • Another system was stationed in Romania from May 2024 to support the eastern flank of NATO to protect
  • In addition, the deployment on board the Mistral helicopter landing ship “Tonnerre” (L9014) was successfully tested
  • Italy has stationed a SAMP/T system in Lithuania on a rotational basis

©Military News

Like Austria and Germany, Denmark relies on the Skyranger 30 system from Rheinmetall Air Defence (-> Denmark becomes third Skyranger customer). For Denmark, this will be mounted on the Piranha 8×8 wheeled armored vehicle from General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS). 16 vehicles have been ordered.

Denmark joined the European Sky Shield Initiative led by Germany in June 2024.

Here for more news about Thales and here to further news about MBDA.

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