On the sidelines of the 2023 edition of the Paris Air Show, France organized a “conference on air and anti-missile defense in Europe” during which representatives of around twenty countries were able to share their operational experiences and prospective analyzes in this area.
And this while President Macron had criticized the European Sky Shield Initiative [ESSI]that is to say the European anti-missile shield project launched by Germany under the aegis of NATO, because it favored the shared purchase of non-European devices [à l’exception de l’IRIS-T SLM allemand] at the expense, in particular, of the Medium Range Ground-Air/Terrestrial system [SAMP/T ou Mamba] French-Italian.
Since then, the ESSI has attracted the interest of around fifteen European countries. [dont la Suisse et l’Autriche, qui ne sont pas membres de l’Otan]. Having extensive air defense capabilities, Poland would consider joining.
However, Mr. Macron does not disarm… On April 25, during a speech on the European Union given at the Sorbonne, he put this subject back on the table by proposing to “build” a “European initiative of defense”, which “must first of all be a strategic concept” from which “relevant capabilities” will arise.
Then, in an interview given to “young Europeans” and published two days later, Mr. Macron said he was ready to open the debate on the role of French deterrence in European defense.
“I am in favor of opening this debate which must therefore include anti-missile defense, long-range weapon firing, nuclear weapons for those who have them or who have American nuclear weapons on their soil. […] Let’s put everything on the table and look at what truly protects us in a credible way,” declared the tenant of the Élysée.
“This may mean deploying anti-missile shields, but we must be sure that they block all missiles and deter the use of nuclear power” because “to be credible also means having long-range missiles which would deter the Russians” , he continued. And added: “There is the nuclear weapon: the French doctrine is that we can use it when our vital interests are threatened. I have already said that there is a European dimension to these vital interests, without detailing them, because this deterrence would contribute to the credibility of European defense. »
It remains to be seen how these proposals will be received by EU member countries. [ainsi qu’en France]… In the meantime, following a meeting with Guido Crosetto, his Italian counterpart, this April 29, in Calvi, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, once again insisted on the SAMP/T, of which a new version – called SAM/T NG – will soon enter service.
“The summit that we organized on the sidelines of the [salon du] Bourget allowed us to look at all the subjects of defense of the skies in Europe” which is not limited to ground-air defense “but also to fighter aviation. […] Here too, there is real reflection to be had, in particular […] around the new generation SAMP/T, which is a real technological breakthrough for the future,” said Mr. Lecornu.
“I don’t want to say too much but it could indeed be the subject of accelerated joint work [avec l’Italie, ndlr] to also respond to the need that our various European partners have to toughen up the protection of their skies by doing so with European equipment, in this case Franco-Italian, which seems to go in the right direction,” concluded the Minister French on this subject.
As a reminder, production of the SAMP/T NG was launched by France and Italy in February 2023, through the Joint Armaments Cooperation Organization [OCCAr]. Developed by the Eurosam consortium [MBDA et Thales], it is based in particular on the ASTER 30 Block 1NT interceptor missile, equipped with a new Ka-band seeker and capable of intercepting missiles with a range of 1000 km. The French version will work with the Thales Ground Fire 300 radar [qui remplacera l’Arabel] while that intended for the transalpine forces will use the Kronos GM HP proposed by Leonardo.
According to the Military Programming Law [LPM] 2024-30, the Air & Space Force [AAE] will have eight SAMP/T NG before 2030, with four more to be delivered subsequently. The first system will be handed over to it in 2027 at the latest.
In the meantime, in view of recent operational commitments and deliveries to Ukraine, the urgency is to produce more Aster 15 and 30 interceptor missiles. It was therefore decided to open a second production line in Italy and, on the other hand, French, to accelerate the pace.
“I have mobilized administrative police powers for the first time, which makes it possible to prioritize a certain number of subcontractors, where civilian orders must now take second place, after military orders, to qualify for this priority for the Aster range,” announced Mr. Lecornu. The objective is to reduce the manufacturing time of these “complex” munitions from 42 to less than 18 months in 2026 and to increase production by 50%.
Furthermore, Mr. Crosetto’s visit to Corsica was mainly motivated by the signing of a letter of intent aimed at establishing a Franco-Italian industrial center in the field of land armaments. The aim, explained the transalpine minister, is to “converge the best companies” from the two countries “because we will need significant investments to keep up with technological developments”.
“The European land industrial hub, which will be born from this agreement between MM. Crosetto and Lecornu, aims to strengthen industrial cooperation and Europe’s defense capabilities through the joint development of new land platforms. This strategic alliance will enable the implementation of collaborations between European nations through the strengthening of industrial bases and the development of the future generation of platforms, including the MGCS [Main Ground Combat System] », added the Italian Ministry of Defense.
