The massive $US1.85 billion package will expand the abilities of Zelenskyy’s troops to take out incoming Russian airstrikes and continue counter-offensives.
puts a dramatic exclamation point on the Biden administration’s latest announcement of military aid to the war-torn nation.
Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders have begged the U.S. for months for a Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that can intercept Russian missiles. US officials said Wednesday they would take one from Pentagon training stocks and send it to Ukraine, marking a shift in the U.S. calculus. The officials discussed details of the Patriot decision on condition of anonymity, citing concerns about operational security.
The Patriot also has somewhat limited capabilities and officials acknowledge it won’t likely change the course of the war. Patriots have a long firing range, but can cover only a limited area. The Patriot’s current interceptor missile costs approximately $4 million per round and the launchers cost about $10 million. Each Patriot battery can have up to eight launchers firing four missiles each.
On Wednesday, the senior defence official said part of the $850 million in USAI announced Wednesday will be used for contracts to augment existing Ukrainian capabilities. The official said that because of ongoing contract negotiations, the Pentagon could say only they were talking to a number of satellite communications vendors.
Although the funding announcement is general and doesn’t cite Starlink, Ferrari said it would be more difficult to introduce other companies’ satellite terminal systems onto the battlefield because they often don’t operate well when mixed together.Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, or JDAMs, are also being provided to Ukraine for the first time. JDAMs are essentially 500- to 2,000-pound “dumb” bombs that have been modified into “smart” bombs by adding a tail fin and navigation kit.
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