Europe conducts first firing tests of SAMP/T NG air defense system in France and Italy.

Eurosam announced on December 15, 2025, that two SAMP/T NG live firings conducted in France and Italy completed a further system-level qualification step for the Franco-Italian long-range air and missile defense program.

Eurosam announced on December 15, 2025, that two SAMP/T NG live firings conducted in France and Italy completed a further system-level qualification step under the OCCAR-managed FSAF-PAAMS program. The firings validated the new-generation engagement module, national radar configurations, and launcher integration using the Aster 30 B1NT interceptor.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

The SAMP/T NG is designed to intercept aircraft and cruise missiles at ranges of up to about 150 km and engage short-range ballistic missiles with Aster 30 B1NT, supported by a new AESA radar with detection and tracking ranges beyond 350 km. (Picture source: French MoD)

The first event took place on December 3, 2025, at the Poligono Interforze del Salto di Quirra in Sardinia using an Italian configuration of the SAMP/T NG, and the second took place on December 15, 2025, at the DGA Essais de Missiles range at Biscarrosse using a French configuration. In both cases, the firings were carried out with a completely new-generation battery architecture, meaning the engagement module, the sensor radar, and the launchers operated together as a single fire unit. These December events followed earlier successful Aster 30 B1NT missile firings in October 2024 and July 2025, which had already supported the interceptor’s maturation before full system-level shots. The December trials were focused on engaging more demanding aerial and missile targets, with emphasis on stress factors such as range, maneuverability, low observability, and speed.

The SAMP/T NG (New Generation) is intended as the follow-on to the SAMP/T air defense system currently in French and Italian service, as a mobile, vertically launched, 360-degree surface-to-air system that can operate as a standalone battery or as a networked node. A battery could scale up to six launchers, with eight Aster missiles per launcher, enabling up to 48 ready-to-fire interceptors. The interceptor’s engagement approach is two-stage, with a solid-propellant booster shaping the trajectory after vertical launch and separating seconds later, followed by the interceptor stage continuing the engagement. Guidance is inertial in the mid-course with refreshed target data transmitted via the engagement module and the multifunction radar, before terminal homing using an electromagnetic active seeker. Maneuverability is tied to the PIF-PAF concept, which combines aerodynamic control with direct force control via lateral thrusters acting at the center of gravity, while the warhead is a blast-fragmentation with a proximity fuze.

Within the same program, the Aster 30 missile, in this configuration, has a mass of about 450 kg, a length of about 4.9 m, and a diameter of about 180 mm, alongside a maximum speed of around Mach 4.5. The SAMP/T NG could engage targets at an altitude of up to around 25 km and a range of 150 km against aircraft. The battery design allows for a high rate of fire suitable for rapid salvo launches, as well as mobile operations, including short setup and teardown times. In the December 2025 test, the firings were positioned as system-level confirmations that the new engagement module and new-generation sensors can manage the Aster 30 B1NT within a realistic firing sequence, rather than validating only a single component. This system-level emphasis is also why the Italian and French firings were treated as separate but complementary events, each pairing the shared missile and engagement architecture with a national radar solution.

A core distinction between the French and Italian SAMP/T NG configurations is in fact the radar, even though the broader battery architecture and interceptor are shared. France selected the Thales Ground Fire 300, also referenced as GF300, while Italy chose Leonardo’s Kronos Grand Mobile High Power radar, referenced as Kronos GMHP. The Ground Fire is an AESA multifunction radar that provides a 360-degree coverage and supports simultaneous missions, including air surveillance and autonomous detection of ballistic missiles, plus guidance support for the Aster missile. The Ground Fire could cover about 400 km in air surveillance mode, its tracking capacity is above 1,000 targets, and update rates are described as up to about 1 Hz in rotating mode and up to about 10 Hz in staring mode.

In Italy, the Kronos GMHP is a C-band AESA radar designed to combine extended air surveillance with tactical mobility and rapid deployment, providing an air surveillance coverage of more than 300 km. The radar uses gallium nitride transmit-receive modules, and its tracking capacity is described as more than 500 targets. The Italian configuration is therefore framed as a high-mobility sensor paired with the same Aster effector and engagement module approach, with the national radar choice enabling Italy to field a SAMP/T NG variant consistent with its own sensor industrial base. The dual-radar approach is described as enabling two national configurations under the same cooperative program, rather than splitting the system into unrelated national projects. In practical terms, the SAMP/T NG’s approach links a shared interceptor and battle management architecture to different radars, while keeping the overall system within the same European-produced family.

The engagement module is the command-and-control element that links sensors and launchers, and operates within a layered air defense architecture either as a coordination node or as part of a fully integrated fire unit. Interoperability is emphasized through support for Link-16 and a range of communications, including satellite links, and the system is also described as engineered to function in congested civilian airspace while remaining compatible with NATO and coalition arrangements. The program structure is described as being managed under FSAF-PAAMS through OCCAR on behalf of France, Italy, and the UK, and the industrial arrangement linked to SAMP/T NG is tied to Eurosam, a joint venture between MBDA and Thales. In Italy, the first SAMP/T NGs are expected to be delivered in early 2026 for operational evaluation, while France expects an entry into service in 2027.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.