The Italian Army has taken delivery of its first SAMP/T NG (New Generation) air defense system, marking a significant step toward establishing a layered air and missile defense architecture.
The system was received by the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Command based in Sabaudia, Lazio, alongside the Grifo short-range air defense system.
Rheinmetall’s Skynex air defense system, providing close-range protection, was previously delivered to the command in December.
“The delivery of the SAMP-T NG and Grifo anti-aircraft defense systems represents a significant leap forward in the security scenario, which in the current era cannot be taken for granted, but requires cooperation, training, and operational readiness,” Italy’s Chief of Staff of the Army Lieutenant General Carmine Masiello said.
“These capabilities, the result of careful and consistent work and consolidated synergies with the defense industry and allied countries, confirm the need to manage not only effective responses to current threats, but above all the ability to identify the right questions to address future challenges.”
SAMP/T NG
The SAMP/T NG is a medium-range air defense system developed by the EUROSAM industrial joint venture of MBDA Italy, MBDA France, and Thales, capable of countering a wide range of threats, including short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and hypersonic threats.
Developed under a Franco-Italian program launched in 2021, the SAMP/T NG is an evolution of the operational SAMP/T.
It incorporates the new Aster B1NT interceptor missile, with a range exceeding 150 kilometers (93 miles), and Leonardo’s Kronos Grand Mobile high-power radar, which provides threat detection at ranges of more than 350 kilometers (217 miles).
Ten systems are scheduled for delivery to the Italian Army and Air Force and eight to the French Air Force.
Grifo System
The Grifo system, developed and produced by MBDA in Italy under a program launched in 2019, integrates the CAMM-ER interceptor missile to provide short-range air defense for deployed forces.
The system is designed to detect, engage, and neutralize a broad spectrum of aerial threats, including fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and anti-radiation missiles.
Both systems offer high tactical mobility, flexibility, and modular employment, enabling an integrated, layered, and omnidirectional (360 degree) air and missile defense architecture.
Designed as complementary and fully interoperable capabilities, they are intended to operate within national and NATO air and missile defense networks.
“We are truly proud to have reached this important milestone within the timeframe agreed with the customer and, in some cases, ahead of schedule,” MBDA Italia CEO and General Manager Lorenzo Mariani emphasized.
“To protect our skies, our people, and the country’s most valuable assets, the Army can now count on these new, technologically advanced systems to counter increasingly challenging threats.”
