Denmark Orders SAMP/T NG Air-Defense Systems from Eurosam, Opting for European Alternative to US Patriot

Denmark signed orders for the French-Italian SAMP/T NG air-defense system in the first quarter of 2026, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2028, Defense News reported. Thales will supply the radar for the Danish system, equipping it with the Ground Fire 300 model.

The contract, valued at more than €100 million (US$118 million), positions Denmark as the third country to join SAMP/T NG clients, alongside France and Italy.

Denmark selected the SAMP/T system over the American-made Patriot in September. This choice comes as the United States government flagged possible delays in deliveries of weapons and ammunition to the Baltic countries linked to the Iran war. Switzerland stated in March that 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 in a statement. MBDA plans to double production of the Aster family of air-defense missiles in 2026.

Aster missiles serve high-end air defense for the French, Italian, and British navies, in addition to the ground-based SAMP/T system.

Thales is providing the radar, command-and-control system, and the seeker for the Aster missile in the Danish SAMP/T setup. The SAMP/T system is produced by Eurosam, a joint venture between Thales and MBDA’s French and Italian branches. The upgraded SAMP/T NG will integrate MBDA’s Aster 30 Block 1 New Technology interceptor, which has a range of 150 kilometers and features a new Ka-band seeker.

The Aster 30 Block 1 New Technology interceptor is designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic missiles. The first test firing of the updated Aster missile occurred in October 2024 in a complex scenario with several targets. A second qualification firing took place 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 offers a claimed range of up to 400 kilometers with 360° coverage, utilizing a rotating S-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna.

The radar and its associated power generator are standard-container sized and can be set up in less than 15 minutes.

Italy ordered ten next-generation SAMP/T NG systems in September 2024, while France ordered eight in the same month. The Italian Army took delivery of its first SAMP/T NG in January, equipped with Leonardo’s Kronos Grand Mobile HP radar, which has an air-surveillance instrument range of at least 300 kilometers. France’s Air Warfare Center received its first SAMP/T NG system in February.

Ukraine expects to receive a SAMP/T NG system in 2026 and will start testing it against ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Switzerland stated in March that it would acquire a second model of long-range air-defense system, preferably produced in Europe.

The Netherlands rushed through a Patriot order in March, noting that without the rush, the production spot could push delivery back to 2033.

Turkey will resume talks with Italy about buying the SAMP/T system, including technology transfer and joint production, according to Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak. NATO air defenses in March intercepted at least four ballistic missiles from Iran that entered Turkish airspace.

Turkey signed a declaration of intent with Italy and France in 2017 to strengthen cooperation in jointly producing air-defense systems.

France stalled progress on the 2017 cooperation in response to Turkish operations in Syria in 2019. Acquiring the SAMP/T system would provide Turkey with a NATO-compatible ballistic-missile defense capability. 62 billion.

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