According to information published by the website "Tactical Report" on January 11, 2022, Qatar has requested a new offer to the company Eurosam to acquire the SAMP/T medium-range air defense missile system.
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French Air Force TEL Transporter Erector Launcher unit of SAMP/T medium-range air defense missile system. (Picture source Army Recognition)
Citing SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) international arms transfer 2020 report, French arms exports accounted for 8.2 percent of the global total after increasing by 44 percent between 2011–15 and 2016–20. At the regional level, the Middle East accounted for 48 percent of French arms exports in 2016–20 while Asia and Oceania accounted for 36 percent. Of the 69 states to which France delivered major arms in 2016–20, three—India, Egypt, and Qatar—together received 59 percent of French arms exports.
Over the past 10 years, France has exported a large quantity of military equipment to Qatar including NH-90 TTH transport helicopters and AS-350/AS-550 Fennec helicopters as well as different types of missiles including Mistral, Exocet, Milan, AASM, Meteor, and MICA.
The SAMP/T (French acronym: Sol-Air Moyenne Portée/Terrestre - Medium-Range Land Surface-to-Air Missile), also nicknamed Mamba in the French Air Force, is a ground-based, road-mobile tactical ballistic missile defense system developed by Eurosam, which is co-owned by MBDA France and Italy and Thales Group. The system is designed to counter aerial threats like cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft, and tactical ballistic missiles. The SAMP/T is in service with the armed forces of Italy and France since 2011 and is also in service with Singapore.
A battery of SAMP/T The system includes a command and control center, fire control unit, Arabel radar, and up to six Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) vehicles each equipped with eight ready-to-fire missile containers, two rows of four containers, mounted at the rear side of 8x8 truck chassis.
The Arabel Radar is a 3D phased array radar used for surveillance, tracking, and missile guidance. It can track up to 100 targets simultaneously, manage the uplink transmission of command update data to 16 missiles simultaneously, and has a range of 100 km.
The SAMP/T is able to launch the Aster 30 block 1 which can fly at a maximum speed of 1.4 km/sec. The missile has the capability to intercept targets at altitudes from 50 m to 20 km. It can destroy aerial targets flying at altitudes above 3 km at a maximum range of 100 km.
