SAMP/T "Mamba"

The ground-to-air medium-range/terrestrial system (SAMP/T) - Mamba is a Franco-Italian program developed by Thales and MBDA for the Joint Armaments Cooperation Organization. Its main objective is to ensure the ground defense of areas against conventional aerial threats such as aircraft or cruise missiles, while being the only European defense system with an anti-ballistic capability.

The SAMP/T system consists of several essential subsystems. The fire control subsystem, supplied by Thales Air Systems, integrates the Arabel X-band radar module for target detection and tracking, as well as a friend-enemy identification system. It also includes power generation, engagement, maintenance and missile reloading modules. The land launch subsystem is supplied by MBDA Italy and includes land launch modules equipped with Aster 30 Block 1 missiles supplied by MBDA France.

In terms of capabilities, the SAMP/T system can intercept aerial threats up to 50 km or even 100 km for non-maneuvering aircraft, and it is also capable of anti-missile defense with a range of around ten kilometers.

The system was qualified for missile defense in 2010, demonstrating its ability to intercept ballistic missiles. Since then, it has been modernized to be compatible with Aster 30 block 1 NT missiles from 2023.

The French army uses the SAMP/T to replace its previous systems for anti-aircraft missions, and several squadrons have been equipped with them since 2009. The Italian army has also ordered these systems, and countries such as Singapore have also acquired the SAMP /T to strengthen their ground-to-air defense. Despite offers to other countries like Poland and Switzerland, some have opted for other systems like the Patriot due to cost and performance considerations.