Italy steps up: Advanced weapons heading to Ukraine front lines

The Italian government, which has not disclosed the contents of its aid packages for Ukraine until now, is clearly changing its approach. According to local media, the transfer of highly valuable weapons to the front, including the SAMP/T air defense system and long-range Storm Shadow missiles, will be confirmed in a few days.

"The ninth weapons package for Ukraine, which Defense Minister Guido Crosetto will present by the end of the month, will include not only the SAMP/T air defence system but also a batch of long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which can potentially strike Russian soil," reports the Italian newspaper "Il Fatto Quotidiano."

Storm Shadow (and its twin SCALP-EG) are long-range cruise missiles that have 992 lbs warheads with BROACH (Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge). These missiles can operate in multiple modes: contact explosion (on impact), airburst resulting in a shower of fragments over a large area, and penetration, where detonation occurs with a delay.

Besides their significant destructive power, the essential features of this weapon are a range of up to 311 miles and stealth technology, which allows them to evade even the best Russian anti-air systems. Each of these missiles weighs about 1.4 U.S. tons and uses inertial and satellite navigation systems and a fourth-generation IR sensor (IIR) for targeting. Initially, only the UK and France supplied these types of missiles to the front. It was unofficially said that the Italians were also doing this for some time, and now it is being reported directly.

The SAMP/T (Surface-to-Air Missile Platform/Terrain), in turn, is one of the best Western air defense systems that the Ukrainian army is receiving from Western allies. It is the result of efforts by Italian and French defense companies.

In this system, Aster 30 missiles are used to eliminate targets. Their range depends on the type of target they are meant to hit. Ballistic missiles can be neutralized at a distance of up to 19 miles, but in the case of airplanes, the range reaches up to 75 miles. Each of these missiles weighs about 992 lbs (33 lbs attributed to the warhead) and measures 16 ft long. After launch, it reaches Mach 4.5 (~5074 ft/s). The launchers are mounted on a truck chassis with an 8x8 drive configuration. Besides them, the SAMP/T system also includes radars, of which even the most basic (Arabel) can detect targets at up to 62 miles.