Joachim Sucker, Director of the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation - Executive Administration (OCCAR-EA), on behalf of France, Italy and the UK, and eurosam Managing Director Anne Diaz De Tuesta signed the 15th Amendment for the Surface to Air Anti-Missile System family (FSAF)-Principal Anti Air Missile Systems (PAAMS) Sustainment & Enhancement (S&E) Contract.
This new contract amendment covers the production of a new batch of Aster 30 B1 ground and naval missiles, and Aster 15 naval missiles. It focuses on the improvement of the European production capabilities for the Aster missiles in order to accelerate and increase the production for the Ground and Naval Air Defence systems employed by the three nations’ forces (French Air Force, Italian Air Force and Army, French, Italian and UK Navies). Thanks to this contractual change, eurosam and MBDA will enable OCCAR-EA to deliver the variants of the Aster family (Aster 15 & Aster 30) to the nations, within a shorter timeframe.
OCCAR-EA and eurosam are proud to have placed this new contract amendment having worked closely with the national entities in charge of defence equipment procurement (Italian Segretariato Generale della Difesa (SGD), French Direction Générale de l’Armament (DGA) and UK Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S).
This amendment is a further catalyst that promotes and reinforces the existing cooperation amongst the three nations supported by OCCAR-EA.
OCCAR-EA, eurosam, MBDA and Thales will therefore continue to lead the way to provide upgraded Air-Defence systems6 to face increasingly more challenging threats for the benefit of the French and Italian Air Forces, Italian Army and the three Navies.
OCCAR-EA is also in charge of the procurement of the New Generation of the FSAF-PAAMS ground and naval systems, like the SAMP/T NG and PAAMS NG
The eurosam GIE (Economic Interest Grouping) is a Franco-Italian joint-venture created between MBDA and Thales. For more than 35 years, it has been the industrial prime contractor and design authority for Aster missile-based air defence systems.
The result of cooperation between France and Italy, extended to the United Kingdom, the systems developed by eurosam both in their land (SAMP/T) and naval (SAAM and PAAMS) applications have proven their effectiveness in combat
Today, eurosam is positioned as the only European system manufacturer capable of offering sovereign medium and long-range air defence solutions. To meet current defence challenges, eurosam continues to innovate to offer its customers defence systems able to defeat current and future threats. This ability to anticipate and to innovate is based on the recognised expertise of its teams and that of its shareholders in terms of research and development and programme management.
