United to win: Italy transfers second SAMP/T air defense complex to Ukraine

Italy has confirmed the transfer of an additional SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile system battery capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

Reuters reports this with reference to the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani.

"We will send SAMP/T, the anti-aircraft defense system, that is, the protection that Ukraine asked us for," the head of the Italian ministry said.

The minister added that the SAMP/T air defense system battery will be transferred as part of the next tranche of military aid, which is already being prepared. However, he did not specify any time frame.

^{The anti-aircraft battery of the SAMP/T complex of the Italian armed forces in Kuwait}

The media reported yesterday that Italy was likely to send a second SAMP/T air defense system to Ukraine in response to Kyiv's appeal for additional assistance in defending against Russian missile strikes.

The agency interlocutor, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the information of the newspaper Corriere della Sera that Italy is preparing to send the SAMP-T system, which is deployed in Kuwait but should soon return to Italy. However, he did not specify the delivery date.

It is worth noting that this is the only European-made system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. It can track dozens of targets and intercept them simultaneously.

Currently, the operators of the only European complex capable of fully intercepting ballistic missiles are France and Italy. The latter has only five batteries at its disposal, so transferring one of them will be a significant step for the country.

According to the article, in addition to air defense, the Italian government plans to transfer strike weapons, namely a batch of Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

It became known that Italy supplied cruise missiles to Ukraine only at the end of April this year. The Italian government did not officially announce the transfer of missiles of this type, but according to some Western experts, the transfer occurred without any announcement.

^{Storm Shadow Missile. 2003 year. Iraq. Photo: banthebomb.org}

For reference:

The Italian version of the system is installed based on an Iveco M320 or ACTL HD8 truck. Its battery consists of:

• four self-propelled launchers,
• self-propelled radar,
• control point.

Similarly to the French complexes, the Italian SAMP/T can destroy:

• aerodynamic targets at a distance of 100+ km and an altitude of up to 25 km;
• ballistic missiles at a distance of up to 25 km at the same altitude.

This battery will be the second for the Ukrainian army. In early 2023, Italy and France joined forces to assemble a battery with their own components and donated it to Ukraine to defend cities and industrial sites against Russia's frequent missile attacks.