France opens to possible SAMP/T air-defense sale to Turkey

France has opened to a possible sale of the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air-defense system to Turkey after years of political resistance, a change that could redraw air-defense ties inside NATO just as alliance leaders gather in Ankara. The shift followed talks between Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni on June 25, ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey on July 7-8.

Turkey has spent years trying to rebuild its layered air-defense plans after buying Russia’s S-400 system. The U.S. Department of State tied that purchase to Turkey’s suspension and pending removal from the F-35 partnership, and Washington later imposed CAATSA Section 231 sanctions on Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries in December 2020. A European system such as SAMP/T would give Ankara a NATO-compatible alternative at a moment when missile and drone threats are forcing allies to invest in air defense more aggressively.

The system at the center of the talks is built by the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium. Eurosam and Thales say the newer SAMP/T NG configuration provides 360-degree protection, detection beyond 350 km and interception of air-breathing targets beyond 150 km. Eurosam says the system can also detect and intercept maneuvering ballistic missiles with a range beyond 600 km, while Thales says the engagement module can manage 100 targets. In one battery configuration, Eurosam says the system can carry up to 48 ready-to-fire missiles on up to six launchers.

Officials in Paris have not confirmed the change. The French presidency, foreign ministry and defense ministry declined to comment on the details, and the presidency pointed to significant inaccuracies without specifying them. Turkey’s foreign ministry did not respond.

The diplomatic thaw follows a period in which France, Turkey and Italy had all explored long-range air-defense cooperation in 2017 and 2018, including work on co-development and co-production, before disputes over Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean froze momentum. “Before, there was a clear lack of openness, now there is openness.”

Denmark selected the French variant of SAMP/T NG in September 2025 to strengthen long-range air and missile defense and NATO interoperability. Eurosam says October 2024 and July 2025 firings of the ASTER B1NT missile validated the long-range version, and two more successful firings took place in France and Italy in December 2025.