NNA – French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that the SAMP/T surface-to-air defense system pledged to Ukraine in February is now ldquo;deployed and operationalquot;.
The system is ldquo;protecting key installations and livesrdquo;, Macron said at a speech in Paris on Monday during at a conference of EU defense ministers, military officials from the United States and Nato, as well as industry executives.nbsp;
quot;It really is Europe protecting Europe,quot; he added, making reference to his opposition to a German proposal to develop an anti-missile defense system for Ukraine by purchasing equipment from the US and Israel.
Ukraine received two American-made Patriot air defense systems at the end of April.nbsp;
For the French presidency, announcing the deployment of the SAMP/T Mamba shows that there is an alternative.nbsp;
Ukrainian troops completed training in March on thenbsp;SAMP/T Mambanbsp;medium-range surface-to-air system, which includes radar and eight Aster missile launchers, with a range of about 100 kilometers.
The system is intended to help Ukraine counter Russiannbsp;dronenbsp;and planenbsp;attacks.
Earlier in May, Ukraine Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said that air defense systems like the SAMP/T or Patriot were needed to protect against large-scale ballistic missile attacks.
A Mamba system is already deployed in Romania to protect the strategic Black Sea port of Constanta.–agenciesnbsp;
nbsp;
nbsp;
============R.H.