COLOGNE, Germany — German government leaders will study an offer by French President Emmanuel Macron to cooperate on the French-Italian SAMP/T air defense system, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed on Tuesday.
Pistorius’ comments amount to the first official response to a proposal by Macron at a July 17 bilateral ministerial summit to include Germany in the co-production of Europe’s only locally made long-range air defense system and alternative to the Patriot.
The German defense minister addressed the overture in a brief talk with reporters at a production plant operated by French-German-owned armored-vehicle maker KNDS in Kassel in central Germany.
Berlin is open to a role in SAMP/T “in principle,” Pistorius said, lauding the spirit of the French offer. At the same time, as a user of the U.S.-made Patriot ecosystem in the same distance and altitude defensive segment, he cautioned that eventually operating two different systems would be hard to conceive.
“On air defense, we’re arguing for European sovereignty, and we’re going to move forward on the famous SAMP/T new-generation system, with also a clear willingness from France to co-produce with Germany and our Italian partners in the new-generation SAMP/T,” Macron said at a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday.
The response by Pistorius suggests longer-term cooperation on technology development for the SAMP/T system is also on the table — he cited “10 years or more” — compared with a more limited production offer. The benefits of such a scenario, in turn, would be interesting for Germany, Pistorius said.
“We should therefore take this offer seriously” and study all the relevant details, he told reporters.
An acute shortage of Patriot interceptors, partly due to the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, have European Patriot customers on edge about spares and new production. The U.S. government has signaled that it wants to fulfill hardware requirements for American forces first, relegating some international production slots to the back of the line.
The situation has amplified voices in Europe calling for more sovereign capabilities unconnected to the political and military fortunes of the United States.
Pan-European missile maker MBDA has said it plans to double production this year of the Aster air-defense interceptor used in the SAMP/T system. The firm in October 2024 conducted the first test firing of an updated Aster 30 Block 1 New Technology interceptor designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles.
Italy took delivery of its first SAMP/T NG in January, equipped with a Leonardo radar with an air-surveillance instrument range of at least 300 kilometers, while France received its first upgraded system in February, equipped with a Thales Ground Fire 300 radar that has a claimed range of up to 400 kilometers.
Ukraine said on July 14 it was planning to order four SAMP/T NG systems, with France committing to delivering them as soon as possible, with progressive deployment of modules as they become available starting in 2027. One Thales GF300 radar will be deployed in Ukraine by the end of 2026 as the first component of the SAMP/T NG.
While the new air-defense systems are being produced, France agreed to send Ukraine two SAMP/T systems what will be returned upon delivery of the new-generation systems, according to Ukraine, which said it would also receive a Leonardo Kronos radar and five Thales Ground Master 400 radars.
France and Italy decided to accelerate delivery of agreed Aster 30 missiles by October this year “to address the operational urgency,” while the countries also authorized licensed production of the Aster 30 missile in Ukraine before the end of 2026, according to the Ukrainian presidential office.
Ruitenberg reported from Paris.
Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.