BELFAST — Denmark has committed to acquiring French-Italian SAMP/T weapon systems to meet a pressing ground-based, long-range air defense requirement, opting for a European solution over Raytheon’s rival Patriot platform.
The Danish Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a translated statement Friday that funding of approximately 58 billion krone ($9.1 billion) will be put toward the procurement of a total of eight long- and medium- range air defense systems. A combination of Norway’s Kongsberg-made NASAMS, Germany’s Diehl Defense’s IRIS-T, and MBDA France’s VL MICA will deliver the medium-tier capabilities.
This twin track approach fits with a national plan to develop a multi-layered air defense network and marks Copenhagen’s largest defense investment to date. Though the Danish statement does not make such a distinction, Thales confirmed in a statement today that Copenhagen will acquire the SAMP/T Next Generation (NG) system.
“The current security policy situation means that ground-based air defence is an absolute top priority in the development of the Danish Armed Forces,” said Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen as part of the MoD statement. “Experience from Ukraine shows that ground-based air defence plays a crucial role in protecting, among other things, the civilian population against Russian attacks from the air.”
The SAMP/T procurement comes amid a European-wide push to urgently rearm at pace to deter Russian aggression, with many on the continent zeroing in on renewed air defense capabilities as a top priority.
Lt. Gen. Per Pugholm Olsen, director of the Danish MoD Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO), justified the decision to discount an order of US-made Patriots, telling reporters last week that “delivery timelines are longer” for the weapon system.
It is not the first time the issue of delays have been aired by officials. Ukraine has previously voiced frustration about the pace of transfers. Similarly, Switzerland’s Patriot order for five systems from 2022, initially slated for delivery between 2026 and 2028, has also been pushed to the right by the US DoD so the department can backfill systems sent by other nations to Kyiv.
In August Denmark, together with Norway and Sweden, agreed to fund a $500 million Ukrainian military aid package of US-made weapons, including Patriot ammunition. At a national level, despite transatlantic political uncertainty, Copenhagen has stuck with orders of other US big ticket items like F-35A fifth generation fighter jets, even signaling interest in acquiring additional aircraft, over and above the 27 units on order.
Ruling out a lucrative Patriot procurement comes amid tension between Copenhagen and Washington, related to President Donald Trump threatening to buy or take Greenland by force. Although the island is a self-governed territory, it remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
As previously reported by Breaking Defense, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s foreign affairs minister, said in July that Danish officials had not held “intense” discussions with the US over the future of Greenland, out of respect for a “nothing about Greenland without Greenland” policy.
Denmark will become the first European Union export operator of SAMP/T after partner nations France and Italy launched development of the SAMP/T NG [Next Generation] standard in 2021. The system is produced by Eurosam, a joint venture between French manufacturer Thales and European missile house MBDA. NG serial production started last year, noted the manufacturer in a statement at the time.
SAMP/T NG is “capable of simultaneously engaging any combination of air and missile threats further than 150km,” and works off a detection range greater than 350km, according to Eurosam company literature [PDF].