The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported on negotiations with Italian partners on the possibility of using windfall profits of frozen russian monetary assets to buy an air defense system for the needs of Ukrainian air defense. For that, the minister's deputy Brig. Gen. Anatolii Klochko met with the delegation from the Defence Industry Agency of the Italian Ministry of Defence on Saturday, January 11th.
The focus of these talks is procurement of air defense systems and missiles to feed them. For security reasons, the names of systems in question are not disclosed but the limited number of options points to the most likely choice: the SAMP/T surface-to-air missile system, developed by pan-European consortium Eurosam (created between MBDA Italy/France and Thales).
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How many systems Ukraine is interested in, no information is given either. Given the cost and low worldwide availability, Defense Express assumes no more than one or two batteries (fire units) are in discussion for now. Ukrainian deputy defense minister Klochko outlined the most important aspects of the potential agreement.
"We are interested, among other topics, in ammunition of various calibers and air defense systems. However, it is important to understand the cost and the timeframe within which they can be delivered to the Defence Forces of Ukraine," he said.
The mentioned timeframe is an important factor because manufacturing an air defense system may take months, nay years, especially if the subject is equipment as sophisticated as the SAMP/T.
Ukraine already has one SAMP/T in operation, its delivery French President Emmanuel Macron announced in summer 2023. One more system was promised to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024; it is yet to be withdrawn from Kuwait first, though. A third battery would be a welcome addition since SAMP/T is the only air defense system available to Ukraine on par with Patriot that can intercept and destroy ballistic and quasi-ballistic weapons, such as russian Iskander-M, Kinzhal, or Zircon missiles.
While the enormous cost of buying air defense systems can be covered using revenues from the frozen russian assets, the time to fulfill the order is still an issue. In that case, a crucial question is, whether it would be possible to speed up the process by sending the equipment from Italy's stocks right away and arranging that the newly-manufactured one goes to the Italian military as compensation.
Another challenge that must be addressed is providing enough ammunition for the system to keep it operating. In regards to the SAMP/T, there is a positive dynamic related to Aster interceptors' production rates, with plans underway to shorten the manufacturing cycle span from 40 to 28 months. In 2023, Italy and France agreed on a joint project to produce 7,000 Aster-15/30 missiles for the SAMP/T system within the next several years.
Read more: Italy Sends Second SAMP/T Air Defense Battery to Ukraine
