Italy confirms itself among the main contributing nations for the strengthening of NATO's deterrence position on the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. Since February, the Defence, through the operational command of interforce forces (COVI), has deployed the SAMP/T air defense missile system in Malacky, with 150 anti-aircraft artillerymen from the Italian Army, who form part of the NATO operation called enhanced Vigilance Activity.
Welcomed in Malacky by the Italian ambassador in Slovakia, Catherine Flumiani, the COVI commander, army corps general Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, paid a visit to the Task Group Italian: “You were able to line up and be operational in a very short time. You obtained the system's security approval and the authorization to operate from the Host Nation in just a few weeks and this was possible thanks to a concerted effort from the various Defense divisions". On the tasks of the mission he then added: “We are here to give continuity to the initiative to strengthen the air defense of an allied country, to respond to a threat that has been looming over our continent since February last year, over our way of life, over those values of freedom and democracy which never, in recent history, have been questioned as now".
The Italian military are engaged in a whole series of functional activities to achieve the so-called Full Operational Capability, which will allow the Task Group and the SAMP/T system to join the network Integrated Air and Missile Defense Alliance.
The Italian contingent is led by Lieutenant Colonel Michele Vellucci and is made up mainly of men and women from the artillery counter-aircraft command of Sabaudia and by the employee 4th regiment "Peschiera" of Mantua.
The SAMP/T replaced the trim Patriot US, previously deployed in the same Malacky air base, home of the 46th wing of the Slovak Air Force.
Developed since the early 2000s as part of the Italian-French FSAF (Future Air Surface Systems Family) program, the SAMP/T is a latest generation missile system, characterized by a particular technology that allows high flexibility, mobility and speed of employment. The current version is capable of countering airborne threats and tactical ballistic missiles.
