The Franco-Italian consortium, Eurosam has signed a contract with the European Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (known by its French acronym- OCCAR) to develop the next generation SAMP/T Air Defence System (ADS).
The SAMP/T is seen as a competitor to the U.S.PATRIOT and the Russian S-400. Turkey was considering the SAMP/T but the deal fell through after Ankara bought the Russian ADS- Editorial comment.
The contract for the development of the SAMP/T NG (New Generation) for France and Italy was signed Friday at OCCAR premises in France in the presence of the OCCAR Director and representatives of the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) and of the Italian Armament Directorate (SGD), a Eurosam release said.
Eurosam consists of three shareholders MBDA France, MBDA Italy and Thales. With this contract, important enhancement will be made to the SAMP/T system including:
- An enhanced missile to enlarge the ASTER family: the ASTER Block 1 NT (new technology) with a new seeker and a new computer able to face the new emerging threats.
- An upgraded launcher featuring new electronic equipment and a new multifunction rotating Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
- A command and control module based on upgraded open command and control software architecture and enhanced connectivity.