Second Italian SAMP/T battery en route to bolster Ukraine defenses

Italian sources have reported that the second promised SAMP/T anti-aircraft and anti-missile system battery for Ukraine is en route. We present what this system is and what it can do.

According to the portal Analisi Difesa, the second promised SAMP/T battery intended for Ukraine was expected to arrive in Poland in the last days of September 2024, and in the coming days, will reach Ukraine. The second SAMP/T battery, gifted by Italy, was deployed in Kuwait as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

This is significant support because the Ukrainians have long run out of missiles for the S-300 systems. Essentially, the only shield against Iskander-M ballistic missiles, aircraft carrying Iskander-M missiles, and bombs with UMPK modules are the few systems gifted by the West.

There are too few of these compared to the needs, so each battery is worth its weight in gold for the Ukrainians. The new unit will be able to protect another crucial infrastructure object, such as a power plant or, for example, a front section near Pokrovsk.

The SAMP/T anti-aircraft system was developed in collaboration between France and Italy and entered service in 2011. Since then, it has been recognised as one of the most modern systems in the world in terms of air and missile defence. It competes with Patriot in the international market. This system is capable of effectively countering threats such as Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

The key element of the system is the Aster missiles, initially designed for ship defence. However, over time, a land launcher for the Aster-30 missile variant was developed, housing eight missiles, and thus, the SAMP/T system was created as a versatile means of air defence. Unlike the Patriot system, SAMP/T features a compact design, allowing it to be transported on several trucks and requires only 14 soldiers to operate.

Another advantage of the SAMP/T system is its radar, which can detect targets in a full 360-degree range. This is a significant advantage over the Patriot system, which has a detection field of only 120 degrees. In the case of the Patriot, to achieve full 360-degree coverage, three radars are needed, at least until the LTAMDS radars are introduced into service.

It is worth noting, however, that the range of the Arabel radar in the SAMP/T is smaller, as it covers over 100 km. This drawback was only improved in the latest production, which has radars with a detection range of up to 400 km.

The system's missiles can destroy targets at around 30 km for ballistic missiles and about 120 km for aircraft. They are characterised by high speed, reaching Mach 4.5 (1,045 m/s), and the target is destroyed using a 15 kg fragmentation warhead. The warhead section is equipped with an active radar head and small manoeuvring engines "PIF" that increase hit accuracy in the final phase of flight.

It is not as sophisticated a method of eliminating the target as the direct hits used in the PAC-3 MSE missiles, but it is sufficiently effective and, more importantly, significantly cheaper. The Ukrainians meticulously hid information about the activity of the first SAMP/T system battery operating around Odessa, but these were the supplier's requirements.