Ukraine’s $500 Million Air Defense System Is Reportedly Out of Missiles
Ukraine is believed to have run out of interceptor missiles for its SAMP/T air defense batteries—Europe’s answer to the U.S.-made Patriot—raising fresh concerns about the country’s ability to fend off Russian missile attacks.
According to Le Monde, citing unnamed Ukrainian sources, “there are no remaining missiles for the two SAMP/T systems currently in service.” The report also noted that Ukraine hasn’t received any new munitions for its short-range Crotale air defense systems in over 18 months.
Italy’s Corriere della Sera reported similar findings earlier this month, stating that the two SAMP/T batteries sent to Kyiv by Rome and Paris are now nearly depleted. “Ukraine has for weeks been requesting at least 50 new missiles for the system,” the paper wrote. “But Italy’s own stockpile is at critical levels, and the remaining missiles are being reserved for domestic defense.”
Ukraine’s military has not officially commented on the reports.
What Is SAMP/T?
SAMP/T is a medium-to-long-range surface-to-air missile system jointly developed by France and Italy through the EuroSAM consortium. It uses a network of sensors and radars—including a cutting-edge active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar—to intercept aircraft, cruise missiles, tactical ballistic missiles, and drones.
Each SAMP/T unit costs between $500 million and $800 million, depending on its configuration. A standard battery includes an Arabel multifunction radar, a command vehicle, and 4 to 6 mobile launchers, each capable of carrying up to 48 Aster 30 missiles—priced at about $2 million apiece.
In theory, SAMP/T can detect targets at up to 350 km and intercept them at ranges of up to 150 km using the Aster 30 missile. That performance makes it a rival to the American Patriot system, whose most advanced PAC-3 MSE variant has an intercept range of around 120 km.
Ukraine received its first SAMP/T battery in May 2023 and deployed it in combat by early June. Most of the system’s components were drawn from Italy’s reserves, supplemented by French equipment.
In January 2024, Russia claimed to have destroyed one of Ukraine’s SAMP/T systems during a large-scale, coordinated missile and drone attack. Ukraine’s Air Force did not confirm the claim but later acknowledged it failed to intercept several Russian Iskander-M ballistic and Kh-22 hypersonic missiles during that strike.
Troubled Performance and Production Bottlenecks
A European diplomat told Le Monde on May 26 that SAMP/T’s ability to stop ballistic missiles “remains unproven in real-world scenarios.” Back in March, The Wall Street Journal reported ongoing software problems with Ukraine’s SAMP/T systems, citing sources familiar with the matter. The technical issues reportedly hampered the system’s ability to track and intercept Russian ballistic threats.
Beyond software bugs, the program is also facing serious production challenges. The Aster 30 missile has never been produced at high volume, leaving EuroSAM with a limited manufacturing capacity and shrinking inventory. Low global demand has kept production lines running below capacity, and the lead time from order to delivery now stands at approximately 40 months per missile.
With Russia intensifying its airstrikes and Ukraine’s high-end Western defense systems under strain, the shortage of Aster missiles could create serious gaps in Ukraine’s layered air defense network—especially as it faces a growing number of ballistic and hypersonic threats.
(Sources: Le Monde, Corriere della Sera, AFP, AP)
