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Denmark picked SAMP/T over US Patriot air defence system

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Co-manufacturer Thales sees more potential export deals

(Adds details and context from paragraph 3)

By Tim Hepher and Stine Jacobsen

PARIS/COPENHAGEN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - France's Thales

and its partners are talking to several European and

other nations about potential new SAMP/T deals after Denmark

picked the Franco-Italian air defence system over the U.S.

Patriot, a senior Thales executive said.

"Air defence is clearly becoming a priority across Europe,

not only the eastern part," Herve Dammann, Executive

Vice-President for Land and Air Systems, told reporters on

Monday.

Prospects include not only countries that have publicly

voiced interest, like Greece and Belgium, but other unidentified

markets, he told a briefing on Denmark's SAMP/T purchase.

Air defences are in focus after Poland shot down suspected

Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of aircraft from

NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western alliance is

known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Denmark said on Friday it would acquire air defence systems,

including two SAMP/T systems, for 58 billion Danish crowns ($9.1

billion), becoming the first European buyer outside France and

Italy and rejecting bids for the widely used U.S. Patriot.

The competition was seen as a test of European efforts to

boost purchases of regionally produced weapons, and put ties

between two NATO allies further under the spotlight following a

recent spat between Copenhagen and Washington over Greenland.

Danish officials have denied any link between the country's

largest ever arms purchase and recent tensions with Washington

over U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign to acquire

Greenland, which has been under Danish control since 1721.

"This is not a rejection of Patriot, it is a selection of

what is best," Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told

a news conference on Friday.

DANISH POLITICIANS BACK DECISION TO BUY IN EUROPE

Thales declined to comment on the political backdrop to the

competition, saying this was a matter for the Danish government

and that SAMP/T had won in part due to its 360-degree coverage.

SAMP/T was developed by Thales and forerunners to the French

and Italian subsidiaries of MBDA, the world's

second-largest missile maker behind RTX, which developed

the Patriot system used by over half a dozen European nations.

The choice between American and European systems has become

politically sensitive following a flurry of comments from Trump

threatening to annex Greenland over security concerns.

While Danish officials emphasised the decision was based on

technical and practical considerations, Danish politicians on

left and right painted the procurement as a win for Europe.

"It pays to be a good ally ... It has been a strong

political desire to buy from reliable and non-threatening

partners," said conservative lawmaker Rasmus Jarlov on X.

"I will not hide the fact that I am incredibly happy that

the 58 billion crowns will not go to the Israeli or U.S. arms

industry, but will go to the European arms industry," said

Martin Lidegaard, leader of the opposition Social Liberal party.

Denmark is also looking at medium-range defences including

the Norwegian NASAMS, German IRIS-T and French VL-MICA.

In a paper on defence readiness earlier this year, the

European Commission identified air and missile defences as one

of seven priority areas for filling gaps in military capacity.