The SAMP/T Mamba system. Source: MBDA Systems.
Italy has finally agreed to supply a SAMP/T Mamba medium-range air defense system to Ukraine, Italy’s RID reported on January 13.
According to the defense news outlet, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made the corresponding decision several days ago.
The decision to supply the Italian-French air defense system to Ukraine was stuck for several weeks due to the reluctance of both the defense ministry and Italian military as well as to the opposition of some politicians from the governing coalition. RID revealed that some “strong pressure from Washington” helped to speed up the decision process in Italy.
Italy has only five SAMP/T batteries, and one of them is currently deployed in Kuwait as part of the United States-led Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS.
“The plan by which the battery is to be transferred is very complicated, and at present the details are confidential,” RID report reads. “It seems the battery [destined for Ukraine] will be made from bits of French and Italian [SAMP/T] systems.”
The air defense system, which was developed by the France-based Eurosam, is armed with Aster-30 interceptors originally made for naval vessels with a range of up to 60 kilometers. The system utilizes THALES’s ARABEL multifunction fire control, X-band radar, which can detect an aircraft from 70 kilometers and a missile from 20 kilometers.
The system can counter an array of airborne threats including manned and unmanned aircraft, and is said to be especially effective against cruise missiles.
The Italian decision is an example of how the U.S. has been pressuring its allies to provide more air defense systems to Ukraine. The country has already received several Western-made short and medium range systems, like NASAMS, Crotale NG, IRIS-T SL, MIM-23 Hawk and Aspide 2000. However, it is still vulnerable to Russian missile and drone attacks.
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Even the Taliban through attrition warfare of 20 years duration defeated NATO. Yes, Russia will defeat NATO and its Ukraine mercenary through attrition warfare.
I believe the Italians and the French are slowly pulling out of NATO. The Germans will be next.
Germany can’t as they did not join volunatary but were forced as result of ww2. I do not think even if all the us funded german polititians wanted they could. But they do not want they were all handpicked and funded by us ngo’s since their youth.
However, the people can rise, right?
Russia already won, Italy is a pathetic lame country filled with Mafias and cannot deal with its own problems so they decided to destroy their country more by electing the right wing.
This shithole country called Italy is €2.41 Trillion in debt and they are a belingerent in a war? Trying to go from broke to no more?
Their economy is 66% service industry and that is with creative statistics. Service industry means that nobody works. They are just calling circle jerk as work.
Meloni is not that bad.
Somehow they convince NATO members that Russia is their enemy when their own leaders are a greater threat to the continuation of their current political system.
What do they do, shoot white flags into the air
SAMP/T is a more modern and better system than the MIM-104 Patriot. In Sweden the recommendation from the evaluation was to buy the SAMP/T but the politicians choose to buy the more expensive and inferior system from the US instead. I actually did read an university piece of the evaluation and how the systems differ and what makes the SAMP/T excel in most areas. It can be summoned up with that it cheaper, needs less manpower and maintenance but also that it’s more modern and has faster engagement times form detecting to engaging a target. Even with radars that have shorter detection ranges the probability och a successful engagement is higher with the SAMP/T against fast targets.
But it is inferior in the most important aspect. The bribes to the polititians. ;-)
anti-aircraft missiles cant help dead soldiers.
^.^
They cannot hit drones, either. But are very vulnerable to them… There is a need for multiple layered air defense systems, but to protect all AFU with that would drain NATO resources and how coyld they find qualified personal for that?
I do not think russia wants to end ukraine. Cause then they would have to deal with nato countries shooting on russians in a country that is legaly not part of russia. So if russia would shoot at poland after poles shoot on russian troops from poland over the border of ukraine then the UN would declare russia attacking poland and nato would be able to pull article 5 and assemble all members.
Russia is much happier killing nato troops in ukranian uniforms on ukrainian territory. I think they will never take the last buffer to poland which will become a no mans land.