US to send Ukraine advanced NASAMS air defense weapons in $820 million package

WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon on Friday announced $820 million in new Ukraine military aid that includes advanced mid- to long-range air defense systems and counter-artillery radars to respond to Russia’s heavy use of long-range strikes in the war.

The announcement for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, marks the start of a contracting process for $770 million worth of equipment, including four more counter-artillery radars and up to 150,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition, through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

NASAMS, developed by Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace as well as American company Raytheon Technologies, marks a shift from the Russian-made air defense systems, like the S-300, that Ukraine had used. The U.S. coordinated donations of Russian-made systems from Ukraine’s neighbors, but maintaining those systems are expected to grow more difficult as Russia’s invasion continues.

“This system, co-produced by Norway and the U.S., is a NATO system, so for us it’s important to start to help the Ukrainians transition their air defense systems from what is a now a Soviet-type system, to introduce some of this modern technology,” a senior defense official said Friday.

Contracts for NASAMS are expected to be finalized within weeks or months, and Ukrainian forces will need to receive training to operate the systems, a senior defense official said.

NASAMS, which is used to guard airspace over the White House and the Pentagon, were exported to Hungary and India in recent years, among other territories.

The new aid also included $50 million worth of ammunition drawn from U.S. stockpiles for American-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems that arrived in Ukraine last week. Ukrainian forces have used the systems successfully against Russian command posts and other targets, the official said.

“What you see is the Ukrainians are actually systematically selecting targets and accurately hitting them, thus providing this precise method of degrading Russian capabilities,” the official said.

The official credited the retreat of Russian forces from Snake Island this week not to Russia’s goodwill, as Moscow claimed, but to Ukrainian forces armed by American Harpoon missiles. The U.S. official confirmed that Ukraine had used Harpoon missiles to take out a Russian supply ship on the Black Sea that was headed to Snake Island.

The U.S. has provided more than $8.8 billion in weapons and other military training to Ukraine, $6.9 billion of it since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

By NC ScoutPublished On: July 2, 2022Categories: AP Staff, Intelligence1 Comment

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

One Comment

Chef July 2, 2022 at 15:50

I love how the news changes constantly. From the reality that the ukrops took out an ambulance tug, a medical ship under the Geneva Convention, becomes a “supply ship,” and even a warship in other news reports. Add in shooting captured soldiers in the legs and balls, setting them in fire. These treaties are in place for a reason. Its going to be ugly indeed if all sides just throw them out the window, but whatever right? And I know the Ruskies were probably using it for supplies, but right now our guys are zipping around in civilian ambulances all through the Donbas and from what I understand Russian Recon teams refrain from targeting them in most cases, which would be great if your ass was in the back of one wearin tourniquet or chest seal. Nightmare fuel man.