After several weeks of deliberation, France and Italy approved the delivery of Italian-French SAMP/T air defense systems, christened as Mamba by French Air Force, to Ukraine. According to the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, cited by the Air Force press service’s Telegram channel, Ukrainian service members have left for training.
Lieutenant General Oleshchuk anticipates the new Ukrainian operators to “return to Ukraine with the knowledge, skills, and the Mamba systems themselves” in the spring, once training on the medium-range air defense systems is completed in the spring.
“I sincerely thank the Governments of France and Italy for their decision regarding the provision of SAMP/T-Mamba anti-aircraft systems to protect Ukraine from Russian missile terror and strengthen the country’s air defense. I immediately decided to send the necessary number of units of anti-aircraft missile forces for training. And they are already on their way,” stated Oleshchuk.
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