The U.S. has approved a new $275 million weapons aid package for Ukraine, which includes counter-drone and counter-air defense equipment.
The new deal announced on Friday, which is the 27th drawdown of equipment from existing Pentagon inventories, also includes additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launchers, 80,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells and Humvee ambulances.
“In recent weeks the Kremlin has increased its attacks against critical infrastructure, attacks that are causing widespread suffering for the people of Ukraine. But as winter deepens, so does our support for Ukraine. Today, the United States continues to support Ukraine with additional military assistance to help defend itself from Russia’s ongoing brutal and unprovoked assault,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The Pentagon noted the latest security assistance package will provide Ukraine with “new capabilities to boost its air defenses,” along with equipment it is already utilizing on the battlefield.
The full breakdown of equipment included in the package does not provide specifics on the new capabilities, with the Pentagon only referring to the system as “counter-unmanned aerial systems equipment” and a “counter air defense capability.”
Senior Pentagon officials have cited air defense as a key capability for Ukraine in recent months, as Kyiv faces increasing Russian missile and drone attacks.
The U.S. has provided Ukraine with the first two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), jointly developed by Raytheon Technologies [RTX] and Norway’s Kongsberg, which Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last month have had a “100 percent success rate in intercepting Russian missiles” (Defense Daily, Nov. 16).
The Army on Thursday detailed two recent deals to IMT Defense and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems [GD] to help “significantly increase production capacity” for 155mm artillery shells, as the service looks to replenish stockpiles of munitions transferred in large numbers to help support Ukraine (Defense Daily, Dec. 8).