In a closed briefing with journalists, a senior defense official of the U.S. Department of Defense announced a new package of military assistance for Ukraine.
He said, overall the equipment provided in this batch amounts to USD 775 million, and can be subdivided into the following categories: artillery, mine-clearing, missiles and anti-armor, and mobility.
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The entire list as follows:
- additional munitions for HIMARS;
- 16 howitzers of 105mm caliber with 36,000 rounds to them;
- 15 ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicles to assist the artillery with reconnaissance and targeting;
- 40 MaxxPro Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Vehicles;
- High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles;
- 1,500 TOW anti-tank missile systems
- 1,000 additional Javelin anti-armor systems;
- 2,000 anti-armor rounds for Swedish Carl Gustaf anti-tank systems;
- 50 armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMMVs);
- various equipment: tactical secure communications systems, demolition munitions, night vision devices, thermal imagery systems, optics and laser range finders.
The official said one of the top priorities is still to ensure Ukrainian forces have enough ammunition to operate High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems earlier supplied by the United States. Keep in mind that these rockets are as well used by the M270 systems provided by the United Kingdom and the MARS II delivered by Germany.
Defense official noted that it's the first time Ukraine gets MRAP vehicles from the U.S:
"We know that Russia has heavily mined areas in parts of southern and eastern Ukraine. We know there's a significant amount of unexploded ordnance, so we will be providing mine-clearing equipment and systems," he said adding that these MaxxPro vehicles are equipped with mine-rollers. "So this is going to give the Ukrainians a resilient capability for transporting troops in this challenging terrain."
The official also provided an update on the NASAMS air defense missile systems delivery status:
"On the NASAMS delivery, we're expecting that to be within the next two to three months," the official said.
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