The U.S. Department of Defense has announced a new package of military assistance under the Presidential Drawdown program – this is the 24th one since the beginning of russian aggression.
As we can see from the list below, the U.S. is consistent in providing artillery ammunition so that Ukrainian guns and rocket launchers keep firing. It keeps providing mobility vehicles as well. But there is one new notable item there, too.
Read more: The US to Provide Another Ammunition Supply to Ukraine Worth 275 Million Dollars
The military aid package worth USD 275 million comes as follows:
- additional ammunition for HIMARS;
- 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds (3,500 overall);
- 2,000 rounds of RAAM anti-tank remote mining systems (9,000);
- more than 1,300 anti-tank missiles (8,500 Javelins + 38,000 other types);
- 125 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles ("hundreds" in total);
- unspecified number of small arms (with this, over 10,000 grenade launchers and small arms combined);
- more than 2,750,000 rounds of small arms ammunition (over 64,000,000)
- four satellite communications antennas.
The data in the brackets refers to the total amount of the respective equipment committed so far, including today’s provision – the Pentagon has just released an update.
We can see a new item here: the satellite antennas. As detailed by Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, those are drawn "from Pentagon’s shelves". They are meant to support Ukrainian communications capabilities, as russia targeted critical infrastructure, and that is why they are supplied just now.
The antennas can work with different types of satellites, which include Starlink but are not limited to that particular satellite network.
"These satcoms are not intended to serve as a substitute for a service like Starlink. They help increase communication efforts on the battlefield," Sabrina Singh detailed.
In addition, she mentioned that the training of Ukrainian specialists on NASAMS air defense systems is currently underway, and as soon as it is completed, these advanced missile systems will depart for Ukraine.
As a reminder, the other day Raytheon informed it had already handed two NASAMS to the U.S. government. The Pentagon expects them to arrive in Ukraine next month, Sabrina Singh said at the briefing.
Read more: Can russia Really Take Down an Orbital Satellite and Is It Worth the Effort
