France, Italy and the United Kingdom have renewed an in-service support contract with Eurosam related to the upkeep of the land and naval systems in service with the three countries.
The contract extension was awarded to Eurosam, a consortium between MBDA and Thales, by the European Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAr) and renews an earlier one signed in July 2012.
The contract, which runs for five years from January 2, 2018, will include in-service support for French and Italian land and naval systems (SAAM-Fr, SAAM-It, PAAMS and SAMP/T) as well as all ASTER missiles (ASTER 15, ASTER 30 and ASTER 30 B1) from France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
According to Eurosam, the new contract represents an upgrade from its predecessor and includes not only focused improvements (introduction of repair packages and simplified management) but also cost-efficient, long-term and tailored life cycle continuity support (anticipating major overhauls and addressing long-term obsolescence).
Additionally, the three nations are now able to make common contractual analyses via periodic reviews, which incorporate any potential changes to nation specifications beyond the performance of logistics and support activities.
“Over the past years, Eurosam systems, whether SAAM, PAAMS or SAMP/T, have protected our home nations forces all over the world, contributing to their freedom of action and our nations influence,” Eurosam managing director Abdoulaye Samba commented. “This is of special significance at a time when 25 European nations have decided to join forces for improving their military capabilities and strategic autonomy into the Permanent Structured Co-operation.”