Ukraine conflict: Italy to send second SAMP/T air-defence system to Kyiv

Italy plans to supply Ukraine with a second SAMP/T medium-range air-defence system (seen here test firing an Aster 30 missile). (MBDA)

Rome will send more weapons to Ukraine, including the SAMP/T air-defence system, to Kyiv, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani told the Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview published on 4 June. However, he added that the weapons “must be used on Ukrainian territory to shoot down other missiles before they land; we must not strike Russian territory because we are not at war with Russia”.

Italy and France already donated a SAMP/T medium-range air-defence system to Ukraine in 2023 to provide Ukraine with the capability to defend against attacks by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles, and aircraft.

SAMP/T is a land-based version of MBDA's naval Aster 30 air-defence system with a range of 3–100 km whose missiles can reach an altitude of 20 km, according to Janes Land Warfare Platforms: Artillery & Air Defence.

For more information, please seeSAMP/T.