The President of France Emmanuel Macron urged to offer European substitutes of American military equipment to those considering moving away from deals with the United States amid controversial statements by Donald Trump and his administration.
"Those who buy Patriot should be offered the new-generation Franco-Italian SAMP/T. Those who buy the F-35, should be offered the Rafale," Macron told French media, as reported by Politico, and argued that European NATO members have become too dependent on U.S. weapons. Canada and Portugal have recently voiced hesitation if they should go through with F-35 acquisitions, initiated or planned earlier.
Read more: Ukraine Seeks Urgent Resupply of the SAMP/T Missiles as Stock Runs Low, Italy and France Must Act Fast
However, before they can look toward local alternatives, France has to answer an important question, and it lies not even in the realm of operational capabilities — after all, albeit very advanced, a 4+ generation Rafale is still a far cry from the 5th-gen F-35, and upcoming SAMP/T NG air defense system is yet to reach the heights of effectiveness and reliability already long conquered by Patriot PAC-3.
And it's not even so much about the price, despite a new Rafale being priced at €225 million based on the latest firm contract with Serbia from 2024. That is while an F-35 cost around $208.3 million in a similar agreement signed with the Czech Republic the same year.
The most pressing matter is the production speed for both systems which defines their availability on sale and delivery timelines.
Dassault Aviation's production rates for Rafale are public. The company's announced production plan for 2025, was to produce 25 fighters this year, with promises to ramp it up many times over, since the backlog of pending orders has reached nine years. According to Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier, it will take at least two years to increase the output.
With the goal to raise the pace to 60 aircraft per year, they will need to also crank up all its contractors and subcontractors. In other words, as much as the French aircraft maker would like to, such a significant boost requires painstaking work starting from the bottom up, from the suppliers to final production. Compared to Lockheed Martin's working schedule to produce nearly 190 F-35s in 2025, the competition here is in name only.
As for SAMP/T NG missile defense systems, it is impossible to assess the production rates as the mass production hasn't started yet. It should deploy only in 2026, the first customer is the French Armed Forces. The projected deliveries should begin with eight SAMP/T NG fire units made by 2030, and four more by 2034. Since France is the only customer so far, these plans cannot be considered reliable statistical data.
In general, the SAMP/T has hardly become a rival to the Patriot, because apart from the nations investing in its development (Italy and France), the only foreign operator is Singapore with two systems ordered in 2013 along with 200 missiles for $651 million. The completed transfer was announced in 2018 but full combat readiness was achieved only in late 2023.
Worth noting, it is crucial to understand that the production rates of Aster 30 missiles for SAMP/T are not impressive either, because ultimately this parameter is proportional to how many nations operate the system — even taking into account that the same missile is also used with a limited number of ship-based air defenses. The only detail of note in that regard is the multi-year contract for 700 Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles signed in 2023 without disclosure of the deadlines.
Read more: WSJ: SAMP/T Struggles Against Ballistic Threats. It Makes Sense, But There's a Nuance
