The SAMP/T air defense systems deployed in Ukraine are reportedly facing a missile shortage, raising doubts about their effectiveness. The Wall Street Journal highlights this issue while criticizing Donald Trump’s decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine.
The publication devotes exactly two paragraphs to SAMP/T, explaining that the system is not a viable alternative to the American Patriot, a similar system in service with Ukrainian forces that is entirely reliant on supplies from the U.S. The claim comes from unnamed sources "familiar with the matter."
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Defense Express notes that the shortage of SAMP/T missiles should not come as much of a surprise. This system is not widely deployed, with only France and Italy — two members of the Eurosam consortium — operating it.
Before transferring each one of their systems to Ukraine, France had about ten SAMP/T units, while Italy had six. Singapore, which ordered two in 2013, only declared them fully operational at the end of 2023.
One could argue that SAMP/T uses popular Aster missiles, which are also employed in naval air defense. There shouldn't be any shortage, after all, these missiles serve the navies of nine countries and are installed on at least 47 ships.
However, we must remind that Aster family has two versions with different capabilities:
- Aster 15: 4.2 meters long, 310 kg, 30 km range, launched from Sylver A43 cells.
- Aster 30: 4.9 meters long, 450 kg, over 100 km range, launched from Sylver A50 cells.
It is the larger Aster 30 that SAMP/T uses, this effector is integrated with only 30 ships worldwide, including:
- France: 4 (out of 8 total) FREMM Aquitaine-class frigates, 2 Forbin-class destroyers.
- Italy: 2 Andrea Doria-class destroyers, 8 Carlo Bergamini-class FREMM frigates, 1 Paolo Thaon di Revel patrol ship.
- UK: 6 Daring-class (Type 45) destroyers.
- Algeria: 1 Kalaat Beni Abbes amphibious assault ship.
- Egypt: 2 Al-Galala-class FREMM frigates.
- Qatar: 4 Al Zubarah-class corvettes.
Given such limited usage, Aster 30 missile stocks may indeed be limited. In 2023, France reduced its planned SAMP/T procurement to 10 systems with only 200 missiles in the first batch. Coincidentally, Singapore also ordered 200 missiles alongside two batteries back in 2013.
Until recently, Aster missile production was slow, taking up to 40 months per unit. France has since committed to speed up the process, cutting the cycle to 18 months by 2026 and increasing output by 50%. A broader plan was also announced to produce 700 Aster missiles across all variants in the coming years, with a total budget of €2 billion — offering some insight into the annual production rate.
Despite these efforts, Aster 30 remains a scarce resource. Additionally, different versions of the missile exist, which could explain why WSJ stressed that SAMP/T has struggled to intercept ballistic threats.
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