Working with German and Swedish forces, Airbus demonstrated real-time coordination against drones and cruise missiles under realistic conditions. It also linked the German Army’s Light Air Defence System, LeFlaSys, into the network, adding short-range drone protection to the longer-range systems.
SAMOC coordinated IRIS-T SLM’s first live firing by an entirely German crew. Airbus said this was a prerequisite for official NATO certification.
The Swedish Air Force completed its first independent Patriot live firing through the networked system. According to Airbus, the event marked NATO certification and validation of Sweden’s Patriot systems and demonstrated interoperability with Germany.
“Effective air defence today is the result of a seamlessly integrated overall capability, not the performance of individual products,” said Andreas Reinecke, head of Defence Digital & Cyber at Airbus Defence and Space. “From initial target acquisition to a precise hit, our Command & Control solution in Crete showed how smoothly the interaction works.”
“The SAMOC command post connects individual weapon systems into a reliable, digital protective shield for Europe,” Reinecke said. The command post coordinated weapons covering long, medium and short ranges.
The exercise produced data on bandwidth, response times and resistance to jamming. Those findings will inform further development of NATO’s networked command-and-control capabilities.
