Italy will send a second SAMP-T air defense system to Ukraine in response to Kyiv’s request for more help to repel Russian missile attacks.
This was reported by Reuters, citing a source. And later confirmed by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on the Zapping program on Italian Radio1, Il Sole 24 Ore and La Stampa quoted, according to Suspilne.
“We will send another package. The content of the weapons we are sending is still confidential. (…) It is known that we will send SAMP-T, which is an air defense tool, so a defense tool that Ukraine itself has asked us for. This is not a secret. We are working on it, we just said that we will not send soldiers to Ukraine and that Italian weapons cannot be used in Russia”, — said Minister Tajani.
Since February 2022, Italy has approved 8 support packages for the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. An air defense system is likely to be part of the ninth package, which could be approved soon, the Reuters source added.
The government has never made public the exact list of weapons, and all deliveries are covered by state secrets.
Earlier, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported on Monday that the government may give the green light to new deliveries after the Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ summit, which Italy will host on June 13-15.
What is known about the SAMP-T air defense system
SAMP-T is a long-range air defense missile system developed by the SAMP-T consortium of Eurosam (MBDA Italy, MBDA France, Thales). The system can destroy aerodynamic targets at a distance of up to 150 km at an altitude of up to 25 km. The system is also capable of fighting ballistic missiles at a distance and altitude of up to 25 km.
This air defense system is based on the French Aster-30 missile, which can reach speeds of up to Mach 4.5 (1400 m/s). The missile’s warhead weighs 20 kg and has a launch weight of 450 kg.
SAMP/T, also known as MAMBA, is used by the armies of Italy, France and Singapore. This Franco-Italian system is capable of tracking dozens of targets simultaneously and intercepting up to 10 of them. Importantly, SAMP/T is the only European-made system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
