As the Italian newspaper "La Reppublica" reported in the article "Cannoni e mezzi hi tech, ecco le armi date dall'Italia per l'offensiva ucraina" ("Guns and high-tech equipment - that's what kind of weapons Italy provided for the Ukrainian offensive"), before leaving due to the defeat in the elections, the former Italian government led by Mario Draghi approved the transfer to Ukraine of a significant amount of weapons and military equipment from the presence or storage of the Italian armed forces.
155mm/52 self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000 from the 132nd self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment of the Italian Army, 05/18/2021 (c) Javan Johnson / US ArmyAccording to the publication, two modernized M270 MLRS multiple rocket launcher combat vehicles (out of 18, according to other sources, 22 available in the Italian army) and six 155 mm/52 self-propelled howitzers PzH 2000 licensed Italian production of the German model (out of 68 available in the Italian army) should be transferred to Ukraine in the near future, and from the storage of the Italian army, "from 20 to 30" self-propelled 155 mm/39 M109L howitzers and "several dozen" tracked M113 armored personnel carriers are transferred to Ukraine.
The exact list of the transferred equipment, as usual in Italian practice, is classified.
22 MLRS MLRS remained in service with the Italian army (according to a number of reports, their number was reduced to 18), which underwent modernization under the head role of the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) according to the variant designated in Italy as MLRS-I and similar to the German MARS-II and French LRU, with the possibility of using controlled GMLRS and ATACMS missiles. Now two of these MLRS-I combat vehicles are to be transferred to Ukraine. Earlier, Ukraine has already received six upgraded MLRS MLRS (three British versions of the M270B1 and three German versions of the MARS-II) and eight more should be received in the near future (three British versions of the M270B1, three French LRU and two German MARS-II), now two more Italian ones will be added to them.
68 self-propelled howitzers PzH 2000 caliber 155 mm / 52 were produced for the Italian army under a German license by the consortium IVECO - Oto Melara (CIO) in 2004-2008. It is reported that 14 of these systems are in reserve and six of them will be transferred to Ukraine "in the near future". Earlier, Ukraine has already received 18 self-propelled guns PzH 2000 (10 from the presence of the German armed forces and eight from the storage of the armed forces of the Netherlands) and expects to receive four more from Germany.
As for the M109L self-propelled howitzers, they represent the American self-propelled howitzers M109 and M09A1, which were in service with the Italian Army in 1986-1992, upgraded in 1986-1992 in the amount of 283 units by Oto Melara (now part of Leonardo), which were equipped with the new 155-mm/39 swing parts produced by Oto Melara with the ballistics of the towed howitzer FH-70. In 2011, all M109L self-propelled guns were finally decommissioned by the Italian army and transferred to storage, from where ten units were subsequently transferred to the Djibouti army, and 128 units (according to other sources, 96) were sold to Pakistan in 2017-2018. It was reported that now about 120 M109L self-propelled guns remain in storage in Italy. It is worth noting that some time ago Leonardo developed a variant of the modernization of the M109L ACS with equipping them with a new swing part of the 155-mm/52 caliber.
Apparently, preparatory work on the deconservation of the M109L self-propelled guns intended for transfer to Ukraine has already begun, since several M109LS were filmed in Italy in mid-October, transported on trailers along the highway in an unknown direction. Ironically (and maybe by the conscious choice of selectors) these systems carried on their sides Ukrainian symbols of yellow-blue color with a trident, which is a traditional part of the emblem of the 52nd self-propelled field Artillery regiment "Torino" of the Italian army, which was previously in service. A total of 35 units of the Italian army (including 19 artillery regiments and groups) after 1945 had Ukrainian symbols with tridents in their emblems as an integral part in memory of the participation of these units in combat operations as part of Italian troops on the territory of the USSR (referred to as the "territory of Ukraine").
It is reported that this package of military assistance to Ukraine has become the fifth approved by the Italian government since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine in February. In previous packages, Italy transferred to Ukraine a number of 155 mm/39 towed FH-70 howitzers, 120 mm Mod 63 mortars, Iveco LMV (Lince) light armored vehicles, MILAN ATGM, Panzerfaust 3 hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers, 12.7 and 7.62mm machine guns, small arms, ammunition and other property.
Now, as reported by the same publication "La Reppublica" in another material "Armi all'ucraina, ora tocca a Meloni. Ma sui nuovi aiuti a Kiev crepe nella maggioranza" ("Weapons for Ukraine, now it's up to Meloni. But cracks have appeared in the government majority on the issue of new assistance to Kiev"), the new Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni is preparing a new, already sixth package of military assistance to Ukraine, the approval of which is scheduled for mid-November. In a preliminary order, this package is planned to include the transfer to Ukraine of one of the newest SAMP/T medium- and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems (together with France) and at least three old Spada 2000 (Aspide) short-range anti-aircraft missile systems planned for decommissioning.
The adoption of this package is considered politically important for the new Italian government to "try to remove the concerns of allies about pro-Russian sympathies" participating in the new Italian government coalition of Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini. On the other hand, in order to calm these "pro-Russian sympathizers", it was decided to include "defensive" air defense systems in this package, "so that Ukrainians could defend themselves, and not attack Russian territory."
Regarding the transfer of one battery (complex) SAMP/T air defense system it is reported that Italy will provide only radar facilities for it, and France will provide launchers with Aster series missiles. If this event is implemented, Ukraine will become the second foreign recipient of the SAMP/T air defense system after Singapore.
As for the Spada 2000 air defense system, now the Italian Air Force has seven air defense systems (batteries) of this type for the defense of airfields, including one training one. The complexes were purchased in 1983-1991 in the original version of Spada and were upgraded to the level of Spada 2000 in the late 1990s. In the near future, it is planned to remove these air defense systems from the Italian Air Force and replace them with new MBDA MAADS medium-range air defense systems with CAMM-ER anti-aircraft missiles (so far it is planned to purchase three complexes). As previously reported, Spain plans to transfer another (or both of its) Spada 2000 complexes to Ukraine, and, according to some reports, the training of Ukrainian personnel for the Spada 2000 transmitted by Italy can also be organized in Spain.
Transported, possibly in preparation for the transfer to Ukraine, 155 mm/39 self-propelled howitzers M109L from the storage of the Italian armed forces. The installations retain the characteristic emblems of the 52nd self-propelled Field Artillery regiment "Torino" of the Italian Army with the Ukrainian trident. October 2022 (c) Ciro Nappi @CiroNappi6Firing 155 mm/39 M109L self-propelled howitzers from the 2nd battery of the 52nd self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment "Torino" of the Italian Army, 30.10.2007.
The installations are marked with the characteristic emblems of the regiment with the Ukrainian trident. In 2010, the regiment was re-equipped with self-propelled howitzers PzH 2000 (c) Totonninix / wikipedia.org
