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Ukraine’s New Air Defense System Comes With a Deep Supply of Ammunition


WASHINGTON – After eight months of continuous fighting, Ukraine is missing the missiles that Soviet-era air defense systems used to shoot down Russian drones and warplanes. But on Monday, according to US and Ukrainian officials, the country received its first shipment of an advanced weapon designed to help solve a supply problem.

The weapon is an air defense system known as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, jointly produced by the United States and Norway. It includes a radar, sensors, launchers that can be loaded with six missiles each, and a mobile command center where soldiers can monitor air threats. Every component can be towed or placed on the back of the truck and moved quickly.

“It provides a significant air defense capability,” said Brig. General Patrick S. Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Tuesday. He added that NASAMS can counter “basically any type of advanced aerial threat that Russia might attempt to make against Ukrainian targets or civilians.”

“So it really adds an arrow to the buzzer, so to speak, for Ukrainian air defense,” added the general.

According to the Norwegian defense company Kongsberg, which manufactures weapons systems with the US defense company Raytheon Technologies, the NASAMS was first put into service by the Norwegian armed forces in 1998. Later, it approved for use by the Pentagon in 2005 to protect the Washington area, according to Raytheon.

American military planners decided that it would be especially useful for Ukraine because of the ground-based launcher that can fire relatively inexpensive missiles built for fighters in air combat that Kyiv’s allies have large quantity.

General Ryder declined to say which country supplied the missiles for the new Ukrainian launchers.

“It was from a variety of sources, including U.S. securities, and from various allies and partners,” he said.

Dozens of Ukrainian troops recently completed training in Norway on how to operate and maintain the system. The first two NASAMS delivered to Kyiv are now in use, but the number of launchers in each is unknown.

This type of weapon generally belongs to what the military calls a medium-range air defense system, which can strike targets at longer distances than weapons such as the Stinger man-portable missile that the Pentagon has supplied to Ukraine. , but with less range than larger and more expensive ones like the Patriot Missile System.

So while NASAMS can shoot down drones, helicopters, jets and cruise missiles, it is not considered effective against ballistic missiles of the type that Russia is said to be trying. try to buy from Iran.

“It’s an advanced system that’s more advanced than other systems,” said Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. what Ukraine currently has.

“It will allow them to protect larger sites, places like critical infrastructure, and the batteries – the launchers themselves – can be spread out over a large area,” he said. “One battery cannot protect everywhere, but it will allow them to strengthen their defenses in a number of critical locations that need to be protected,” including around electrical infrastructure.

The launcher is capable of firing four different US-made missiles, including the AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeing missile and the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, with launchable radar, Williams said. about air threats about 30 miles away. In addition, it can identify targets approaching from any direction, Mr. Williams said.

These missiles are among the most purchased by the US Air Force, NATO countries and other partners, with tens of thousands of them in circulation.

The NASAMS system is among those under consideration European Sky Shielda group of 15 countries led by Germany will buy a variety of missiles to protect from any military attack by Moscow.

The launchers to Ukraine are part of a $770 million aid package announced by the Pentagon on July 1. The Pentagon announced in August that it would provide money for Ukraine to purchase six more missiles. additional fire for them to fire.

The value of having a NASAMS goes beyond being able to shoot down Russian warplanes and drones, it gives Ukrainian civilians a sense of safety and security, Mr. Williams said.

“While the Ukrainians are fighting and trying to get the Russians out of their country, they are also trying to attract Ukrainian refugees back,” Mr. Williams said. “These are people who will be very important to the Ukrainian economy in the future.”

“NASAMS will not provide a protective dome over the whole of Ukraine, but it will greatly enhance their ability to protect critical areas,” he said. “And Ukraine needs more than the two units they have right now.”

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