The US Army has awarded a $1.2 billion contract to Raytheon Co. to help Ukraine bolster its air defenses through the acquisition of six National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), the Pentagon announced on Wednesday.
Washington last month pledged to send eight NASAMS to Ukraine as kyiv and Western nations seek to fend off Russia’s constant barrage of missiles.
Two of the advanced systems are already operating in Ukraine and have been “extremely successful,” according to a US Department of Defense report this week.
A Ukrainian soldier watches a “Bureviy” 220mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher firing towards Russian frontline positions, eastern Ukraine on November 29, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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The other six missiles will be shipped to Ukraine once they have been built.
NASAMS first committed to Kyiv under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) in July and bids were opened to military contractors for development of the other six systems.
Providing weapons to Ukraine under USAI allows the Biden administration to procure weapons for Ukraine from industry contractors instead of using presidential withdrawals to ship weapons from existing weapons stocks.
Rescuers work at the site of a hospital maternity ward destroyed by a Russian missile attack, as its attack on Ukraine continues, in Vilniansk, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on November 23, 2022.
(Reuters/Stringer)
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The contract with Raytheon also includes providing Ukraine with equipment, services and associated spare parts to keep advanced air defense systems operational.
Work to develop NASAMS, which will take place in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, will be completed by November 28, 2025.
Army arms purchasing chief Doug Bush confirmed last week that the United States was speeding up its arms procurement process to more effectively replenish its stocks as the war in Ukraine continues, Reuters reported.
“Acquisition speed and agility is a top priority,” Bush said in a statement Wednesday. “The rapid award of this contract is another example of the Army’s ability to expedite the delivery of critical capabilities through our industry partners to our allies.”
Russia has stepped up its bombing campaign in Ukraine as its forces on the front lines have faltered.
A Ukrainian serviceman looks at the booster stage of a Russian ballistic missile that landed in a field in Bohodarove, eastern Ukraine, on April 25, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Despite significant gains in Kharkiv and Kherson, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned this week that Russia is trying to make progress in both sectors on the front line.
Defense officials have assessed that Russia’s missile stocks are dwindling, and its forces are now deploying unarmed cruise missiles to attack civilians, meaning Russian troops are relying on the destruction caused by the missile’s force. rather than the larger impact a warhead would achieve. .
