Defense News
July 1, 2022

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

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….

“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.

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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….

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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.