Italy and France finalising deal to supply SAMP/T air defence system to Ukraine amid war

Italy and France are finalizing a deal to supply Ukraine with SAMP/T Aster 30 MAMBA surface-to-air defense missile system to target Russian offensive positions on the battlefield and protect Kyiv military's tactical sites, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, confirmed in an interview with Rome-based newspaper Corriere della Sera. 

MAMBA [as known by French Air Force] is the cornerstone addition of Italy and France to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] tactical ballistic missile defense capability that can intercept missiles within a radius of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles). France's Air Force currently owns at least 7 MAMBA systems, while Italy has three.  It remains unclear how many SAMP/T missile systems the two NATO countries plan to send to Kyiv, but it is capable of intercepting the Kh-22 anti-ship missiles used by the Russian military to target the civilian infrastructure.

To intercept Russia's Kh-22 Burya missiles

The Kh-22 Burya [translates to Storm in English] is a Soviet anti-ship missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. It boasts a hit probability of 97%. Since Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered the "special military operation" in Ukraine in February last year, invading Russian troops have launched an estimated 210 Kh-22 missiles on Ukrainian targets, fitted with 1000 kg conventional warheads. It is to be noted that Russia launched a Kh-22 missile armed with a 1-ton warhead from Tu-22M3 long-range Russian bombers that killed 45 civilians in Dnipro on January 13. 

Lieutenant General Nikolai Oleshuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, at the time noted, “Since the beginning of Russian military aggression against Ukraine, more than 210 such missiles have been launched; none of them were intercepted by air defense equipment." 

He added, “Only anti-aircraft missile systems, which in the future may be provided to Ukraine by Western partners (systems such as the Patriot PAC-3 or the SAMP-T), are capable of intercepting these air targets.”  

Italy's lower house of parliament this week approved a resolution with a 215 majority to simplify the procedures to send military aid to Ukraine in 2023. "Ukraine received the green light from the Chamber of Deputies, which extends the authorization for the transfer of military vehicles, materials, and equipment to Kyiv by one year, until December 31, 2023," Italian news outlet Rai reported. The resolution will make it easier for the shipment of weapons to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's regime through inter-ministerial decrees [Defence in concert with Foreign Affairs and the Economy] as opposed to the current legislation processes that are subject to addressing the Chambers.