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The air defense system, which was developed by the France-based Eurosam, is armed with Aster-30 interceptors originally made for naval vessels with a range of up to 60 kilometers.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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