The U.S. has approved another $820 million weapons package for Ukraine, including delivery of two NASAMS air defense systems built by Norway’s Kongsberg and Raytheon Technologies [RTX].
The latest deal to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion is specifically split between $50 million in additional munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers to be pulled from existing Pentagon inventories and $770 million worth of capabilities provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program where weapons will be procured from industry.
Photo: Raytheon
“The United States continues to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its evolving battlefield requirements. In particular, DoD recognizes Norway’s cooperation to enable the historic provision by the United States of modern air defense systems that will help Ukraine defend against Russia’s brutal air attacks,” Pentagon Pentagon Press Secretary Todd Breasseale said in a statement.
The $770 million in equipment to be procured with USAI funds includes the two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems as well as up to 150,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition and four additional counter-artillery radars, according to the Pentagon.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told world leaders at a virtual meeting during the G-7 summit in Germany that he is specifically seeking advanced air defense systems to bolster his country’s military capabilities (Defense Daily, June 27).
The additional $50 million in precision-guided munitions, the 14th such drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories, follows the latest $450 million security assistance package for Ukraine announced last week which included delivery of four more HIMARS launchers (Defense Daily, June 23).
To date, the U.S. has now committed more than $7.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Biden administration, to include more than $6.9 billion since the beginning of the Russian invasion.