The SAMP/T Mamba system. Source: MBDA Systems.
Italy is in talks with France to supply Ukraine with jointly produced air defense systems, Italian Foreign Minister said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper that was published on January 8.
“The sixth package [of military assistance to Kiev] is still at the phase of discussion, and, as has been said, there will be no sending [of weapons] before a relevant report to the parliament,” Antonio Tajani said. “We are discussing with the French some points to improve the package from the perspective of sending air defense systems, which are jointly developed by Rome and Paris.”
When asked to comment on reports that the United States have been pressuring Italy to expand weapons supplies to Ukraine and include air defense systems, Tajani said, “We are an important partner, but it wasn’t about weapons.”
The talk is about the Italian-French SAMP/T Mamba medium-range air defense system, which was demanded by Ukraine on multiple occasions after the start of the Russian special military operation.
The air defense system, which is armed with Aster-30 interceptors originally made for naval vessels, was developed by the France-based Eurosam to counter an array of airborne threats including manned and unmanned aircraft with a range up to 60 kilometers.
The system is built around a modified version of THALES’s ARABEL multifunction fire control, X band long-range radar, which can detect an aircraft from 70 kilometers and a missile from 20 kilometers.
Both Italy and French have already supplied Ukraine with air defense systems. Rome provided American-made FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air defense systems (MANPADs), while Paris provided Mistral MANPADs and Crotale NG short-range air defense systems.
The U.S. has been pushing its allies to provide more air defense systems to Ukraine in a bid to limit Russia’s dominance over the country’s airspace. Kiev has already received many Western-made air defense systems. However, its air defense network is still deteriorating.
