On July 31, the OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation) announced that factory acceptance tests (FAT) of the first Leonardo Kronos Ground Mobile High Power (Kronos GM HP) radar station for the Italian armed forces have been successfully completed.
The Kronos GM HP radar will be a crucial element of the SAMP/T NG air defence system. The production contract for the supply of these radar stations was concluded between OCCAR and the eurosam consortium in February 2023. The contract was part of a program that was formally launched in March 2021. According to the schedule, deliveries to the user are set to begin in 2026.
The factory acceptance tests began on July 25 and were observed by representatives of OCCAR and others. They took place at the center of the Leonardo Arco Felice concern in the southern part of Italy. Thanks to the use of gallium nitride components, the Kronos GM HP radar has a detection range of over 250 km for flying targets. During the tests, the range of target detection at specific distances, the operation of the IFF system, resistance to electronic warfare systems, and the range of work allowing simultaneous tracking of air and ballistic targets were all checked.
Currently, the Italian armed forces operate six SAMP/T air defence systems, each consisting of four launchers with MBDA Aster 30B1 missiles. Additionally, at least one launcher is located in the training center of the air defence forces.
Apart from the new radar stations (Kronos GM HP for Italy and Thales Ground Fire 300 for France), the SAMP/T NG air defence system will also feature new combat control stations and state-of-the-art Aster 30B1NT missiles. The production contract for the latter, covering 700 units, was signed on January 30 of this year.
