Defense News
April 13, 2022

US unveils $800 million in weapons and equipment, plus training, for Ukraine

Also see: For first time, Ukraine to get US artillery in new $800M weapons package

U.S. President Joe Biden has announced an additional $800 million in heavy weapons the country will speed to Ukrainian forces, which will include more than a dozen heavy-artillery howitzers, hundreds of armored vehicles and nearly a dozen helicopters, all from U.S. stockpiles.

Especially with the 18 towed 155mm howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds, which the U.S. is providing for the first time, the Pentagon hopes to help even the odds against Russian forces, as the war enters a new phase, concentrated in eastern Ukraine….

“It’s the first time that we’ve provided these [155mm] howitzers and the associated rounds, and that’s reflective of the kind of fighting that the Ukrainians are expecting to be faced with here in this more confined geographic area,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday….

The package includes 10 more AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars; two AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radars; 300 Switchblade drones; 500 Javelin anti-tank missiles; 200 M113 armored personnel carriers; and 100 armored Humvees.

Also included are 11 armed Mi-17 helicopters pledged to the now-defunct Afghan Air Force, which follow five Mi-17s diverted from Afghanistan in January.

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Also included is protective equipment against chemical, radiological and nuclear contaminants, 30 sets of body armor and helmets, more than 2,000 optics and laser rangefinders, C-4 and other demolition equipment, and M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mines.

The Biden administration has committed $3.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, $2.6 billion of which has come….

The new aid will likely include training for Ukrainian forces by U.S. personnel, but not all the details were set. Those troops will likely need training on the howitzers, counter-artillery radar, Sentinel radars, Switchblades and perhaps the Claymores.