US To Send Ukraine Air Defense Missiles In Next Aid Package-Officials
Date
6/29/2024 10:51:09 PM
(MENAFN- AzerNews)
The Biden administration will provide Ukraine with $150 million
worth of weapons and ammunition, including HAWK air defense
interceptors and 155-millimeter artillery munitions, two US
officials said on Friday, Azernews reports.
The weapons aid package is expected to be unveiled on Monday,
the officials said, declining to be named because the package was
not public.
The administration is responding to Ukraine's desperate requests
for air defense support as Russia has pounded Ukrainian energy
facilities in recent weeks via aerial attacks.
The US began shipping HAWK interceptor missiles to Ukraine in
2022 as an upgrade to the shoulder-launched Stinger air defense
missile systems - a smaller, shorter-range system.
The MIM-23 HAWK - an acronym for "Homing All the Way Killer" -
was introduced in the 1950s and upgraded over the years to deal
with jamming and other countermeasures. It was eventually exported
to more than a dozen countries, according the US Army Aviation and
Missile Life Cycle Management Command.
In addition to the HAWK interceptors and 155-millimeter
artillery munitions, the package will include other munitions and
equipment to support Ukraine's defense needs, the sources
added.
The package will come from Presidential Drawdown Authority, a
mechanism that allows the president to quickly transfer defense
articles and services from US stocks to support allies.
The US has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in
military aid since 2022.
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