The SAMP/T Mamba system. Source: MBDA Systems.
The Italian government is preparing a new military aid package for Ukraine that will include a SAMP/T medium-range air defense system, La Repubblica reported on May 2.
The Italian newspaper said that the air defense system Italy plans to deliver was deployed in Slovakia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in March that Rome decided to pull back the system from his country, without clarifying the reason.
The military aid package will also allegedly include American-made Stinger man-portable air defense systems, La Repubblica wrote.
The newspaper reported that the package should be presented by the upcoming Group of Seven, G7, summit in Italy, which will begin on June 13.
Italy has only five SAMP/T batteries. Last year, it supplied a system to Ukraine in cooperation with France. The system was destroyed, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The air defense system, which was developed by the France-based Eurosam, is armed with Aster-30 radar homing interceptors originally developed for naval vessels with a range of up to 120 kilometers. The system utilizes THALES’s ARABEL multifunction fire control X-band radar which has a range of 100 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 Kiev regime has for months now been asking for more air defense to bolster Ukrainian air defenses in the face of increasing Russian drone and missile attacks. Last month, Germany said that it would provide Ukraine with one more American-made MIM-104 Patriot long-range system.
The additional Patriot and SAMP/T systems will not likely make any difference whatsoever. Closing Ukrainian air space is very much impossible due to the advanced intelligence and offensive capabilities of the Russian military.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
