The United Kingdom will donate unspecified number of AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) rockets to Ukraine, though in the surface-to-air version suited for American NASAMS air defense systems, British defense minister Ben Wallace announced on October 13 ahead of NATO meeting in Brussels.
This is the first commitment of these missiles aside from the USA, which is expected to deliver the first NASAMS systems soon. By supplying more missiles, the UK is responding to the recent massive russian missile attack that caused the destruction of civilian infrastructure and casualties.
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"Russia’s latest indiscriminate strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine warrant further support to those seeking to defend their nation. So today I have authorized the supply of AMRAAM anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine," said Ben Wallace. "These weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies from attacks and strengthen their overall missile defense alongside the US NASAMS."
The AIM-120 AMRAAM is a dual-role missile made by American Raytheon: it can operate as an air-to-air missile integrated in a number of fighter aircraft of the 4th generation (F-15, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab JAS-39 Gripen etc.), or as a standard missile for surface-launched systems such as NASAMS.
As noted by Missilery.info, in the latter case, the missile’s active guidance is adjusted by the active 3D radar stationed on the ground to direct the missile into the target’s current location before it activates the integrated homing head. In the case of the NASAMS, it is the Raytheon AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar.
There are several modifications of the AMRAAM missile (with identifiers AIM-120A to D) as well as more advanced variants in development: AMRAAM-Extended Range (-ER), AMRAAM-E2 and the AMRAAM Air-launched Extended Envelope (AXE). The AMRAAM-ER has passed the last tests in 2021-2022 and is expected to enter mass production.
In addition to AMRAAM missiles, the UK will also give more than $10 million for non-lethal aid for the Ukrainian army that will help in the cold period: winter clothes, shelters, generators, fuel trucks and ambulances.
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