Italy Confirms Operational Capability of SAMP-T

Released on Friday, May 30, 2008

The Italian Army has successfully conducted two test firings of its Aster 30 missile as part of the operational evaluation of the SAMP/T air defence missile system.

The SAMP/T is a land-based air defence system, incorporating the MBDA ASTER 30 missile, designed to protect land forces and sensitive sites and zones from conventional threats such as aircraft, UAV's, helicopters and the new generation of stand-off missiles and short range ballistic missiles.

The two firings were carried out by the army at the PISQ (Poligono Interforze Salto di Quirra) joint armed forces test range in Sardinia. For both firings, the full operational configuration of the SAMP/T weapon system was tested entirely autonomously by the Italian army unit. The systemincluded an additional Command Module to manage the system deployment and the links with the upper defence network.

For the first firing, conducted on 22nd May, the Aster 30 missile was launched against a Mirach 100 aerial target flying at low altitude at approximately 150 metres. The system correctly tracked the target at a range of 25 km from the battery and intercepted it target within 15 km over the test range waters.

During the second firing, on 26th May, a more complex scenario was demonstrated. This involved a patrol of two Mirach 100 targets flying towards the SAMP/T system Flying Control Unit. Under the scenario, the system tracked the patrol, correctly identified the selected "attacking" target and intercepted it at 21km during its evasive manoeuvre.

Both trials were a total success with the complete range of test objectives achieved.

SAMP/T MBDA Project Head in the Aster missilesystems directorate, Moreno Bossini, said: "This is a key moment for the programme as our customer, the Italian Army, has testedthe capability of the SAMP/T system using a fully trained unitcarrying out an operational procedure".

Underlining the importance of the firings, Antoine Bouvier, MBDA's CEO, said: "These firings mark an important milestone for European cooperation in the ground-based air defence sector, paving the way as they do for the entry into service of a world-beating air defence capability for the Italian Army as well as for the French armed forces."

Both firings were conducted as part of the ATOC (Acceptance Test of Operational Capabilities) that the Italian Army and the French Army and Air Force are conducting throughout 2008.