PARIS — Denmark plans to buy the French-Italian SAMP/T system to cover the long-range component of the integrated ground-based air defenses the country is building, picking the only European alternative to the U.S. Patriot.
The Danish government expects to invest around 58 billion kroner (U.S. $9.1 billion) to buy and operate eight medium- and long-range air defense systems, it said Friday, more than double a previously communicated budget of 19-25 billion kroner. Two of those eight systems will be SAMP/T, local broadcaster TV 2 reported.
The purchase will make Denmark the first European Union export customer for SAMP/T, with France and Italy the only users in the 27-nation bloc until now, compared to around seven EU countries that operate Patriot.
Ukraine has received at least two donated SAMP/T systems, with at least one in use to defend the Kyiv area.
“The war in Ukraine clearly demonstrates the need for a modern ground-based air defense system consisting of multiple integrated systems that provide multiple layers of airspace protection,” Danish Chief of Defence Gen. Michael Hyldgaard said in a statement.
Denmark already scrambled to put together a medium-range air defense component, drawing on three different systems: a Kongsberg NASAMS system, two MBDA VL MICA systems and an IRIS-T system from Germany’s Diehl Defence, with the first system expected to be operational from around end-2025.
The medium-range systems being acquired will be part of the total final eight, the Ministry of Defence said, with a choice for further medium-range components to be made between one or more systems from Kongsberg, MBDA and Diehl.
“The decision to go with more than one or two suppliers enables shorter delivery times,” said Lt. Gen. Per Pugholm Olsen, head of the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation. “This means that we can achieve our goal of a comprehensive ground-based air defense capacity as quickly as possible.”
The systems were picked based on a combination of operational, economic and strategic considerations, the government said.
Each of the eight systems Denmark is buying will typically consist of a radar, a fire-control unit, as well as one or more launchers with a number of missiles.
The European Commission has been pushing for EU countries to spend defense euros on the continent to strengthen the local arms industry and build a credible military deterrent.
Meanwhile, dependence on U.S. suppliers is seen as increasingly risky due to American disengagement from Europe and after President Donald Trump threatened NATO partners Denmark and Canada.
Air defense is a critical area where Europe needs to build up capacity, according to the European Commission’s defense white paper, as well as military leaders and analysts.
“There’s a use for big and bold decisions if we are to strengthen the armed forces’ combat capability and increase security for the Danish people,” Denmark’s Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen said in a social media post. “Therefore proud of the biggest investment ever made at 58 billion kroner for ground-based air defense, to be deployed across Denmark.”
The United States raised eyebrows among European defense acquisition departments last month by offering Denmark two Patriot systems enabled for the integrated battle command system for an estimated cost of $8.5 billion.
As part of the purchase of European air defense systems, Denmark is demanding offset agreements worth more than 10 billion kroner for the Danish defense industry, the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs said in a separate release.
The foreign suppliers may choose to buy defense equipment directly from Danish companies or set up partnerships to develop products and systems, the ministry said.
SAMP/T has been developed by Eurosam, a joint venture between Thales and MBDA’s French and Italian branches.
France has said it would like to discuss convergence with the Germany-led European Sky Shield Initiative, with the governments in Paris and Rome previously snubbing the initiative after Berlin proposed the Patriot system instead of SAMP/T for the long-range component. France last year signed a contract to start serial productions of the upgraded SAMP/T NG system.
The system can manage up to six vertical launchers, each fitted with eight Aster 30 B1 or B1NT missiles, or in combination with short-range air defense systems using VL MICA or CAMM-ER missiles for self-protection and nearby targets.
The system is fitted with a 360-degree active electronically scanned array radar, either from Thales or Leonardo, that can track missiles, aircraft and ballistic threats. Each launcher can fire its eight missiles in about 10 seconds, according to MBDA.
The new system has an official range of up to 150 kilometers against aircraft, and “excellent capability” against theater ballistic missiles, according to an MBDA fact sheet.
The Aster 30 missile weighs 450 kilograms with a length of 4.9 meters and is powered by a two-stage solid-propellant rocket motor, reaching a speed of Mach 4.5. The first stage separates a few seconds after the vertical launch.
The missile uses inertial guidance and updated target data in the initial phase, with an electromagnetic active seeker for the homing phase, and thrust vectoring for maneuverability. Aster has a proximity fuze and a blast-fragmentation warhead, which MBDA says is effective against hardened targets, including tactical ballistic missiles.
The SAMP/T can come in a French configuration using the Thales GF 300 radar and MICA VL short-range missiles, or an Italian version using the Kronos GMHP radar from Leonardo and the CAMM-ER short-range missile. Both use the Aster 30 for the long-range component.
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.
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