The Pentagon on Friday announced a new security assistance package to Ukraine in the amount of 2.1 billion dollars. This package is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), when weapons are ordered from manufacturers.
The forecast of Western sources regarding the contents of the package was completely justified, because it is about strengthening the air defense of Ukraine with the MIM-23 Hawk air defense system and additional munitions for the Patriot surface-to-air missile system.
Read more: New Rare Photos of Ukrainian Army Firing APKWS Rockets From a Humvee
The package also include 105-mm and 203-mm artillery shells. The presence of 203-mm projectiles with a high degree of probability indicates a solution to the issue of providing ammunition for 2S7 Pion Soviet-made self-propelled 203mm cannons, which are in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Of course, the alternative is 203-mm shells for the American M110 self-propelled howitzers, but nothing is known about the transfer of these artillery systems to Ukraine.
The list of the aid package for Ukraine also includes unnamed ammunition for a laser-guided missile system. But APKWS are traditionally hidden behind this name. In addition, in the same package, they are accompanied by Puma reconnaissance UAVs, which are precisely responsible for detecting and illuminating targets with a laser beam.
And in general, the list looks as follows:
- Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems;
- HAWK air defense systems and missiles;
- 105mm and 203mm artillery rounds;
- Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems;
- Laser-guided rocket system munitions;
- Support for training, maintenance, and sustainment activities.
As Defense Express reported, earlier U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby announced during a White House press briefing on May 31 that the U.S. provided Ukraine with moe air defense in response to russia's upsurge of attacks over the previous month.
Read more: Chronicle of the russian federation Crimes in Ukraine (June 2023)
