Italy and France agreed on a joint order of 700 Aster-30 missiles worth 2 billion euros for the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system - both countries plan to provide this system to Ukraine.

 This was reported by the French publication l'Opinion.

 The publication clarifies that some of the missiles will remain in Italy and France. Exactly how many will be delivered to Ukraine is unknown.

 The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, visited Rome this Friday, January 27, to meet with his Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto. At the meeting, an agreement was reached on the purchase of Aster-30.

 "Today in Rome, we shared a common will to continue supporting Ukraine, to secure the Mediterranean Sea against new threats and to increase our joint production capabilities, in particular in the field of air defense," Lecorniu said on his Twitter.

 The system, created by a joint Franco-Italian consortium, can track dozens of targets and intercept 10 simultaneously and is the only European-made system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

 The day before, the Reuters agency reported a source that the two countries have practically reached an agreement on the transfer of the SAMP/T air defense system to Ukraine.