While the U.S. government is still considering whether to authorize the re-export of 70 ATACMS ballistic missiles from Türkiye to Ukraine, discussions have already begun in Ukraine about how best to use them. At times, however, these discussions overlook the fact that ATACMS comes in several variants with different ranges and warhead configurations.
It is also worth noting that the public nature of the process, caused by the U.S. government publishing the relevant re-export request, makes it impossible to achieve an element of surprise against russia. This is another significant disadvantage.
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The longest-range ATACMS variants are the M57 and M39A1, with a range of approximately 300 km. The shortest range belongs to the original version of the ballistic missile, the M39, which can reach about 165 km.
The variants also differ in their warheads. The M39 and M39A1 carry cluster warheads containing 950 and 300 M74 submunitions, respectively. The M57 is equipped with a WDU-18/B high-explosive unitary warhead weighing about 250 kg, which also has an airburst capability.
Türkiye operates the M39 version of ATACMS, also designated MGM-140A Block 1. This is the original version of the missile, with a cluster warhead and a range of about 165 km.
Türkiye ordered 72 of these missiles in 1996, and they were delivered in 1998. Ankara could have purchased a total of 120 ATACMS missiles for $132 million, equivalent to about $1.1 million per missile in 1997. However, the second batch of 48 missiles was never ordered.
This means that Türkiye has used only two of these missiles throughout their service life, or has other reasons for retaining the remaining stock.
Therefore, Ukraine could receive the same ATACMS variant that the United States first supplied to Ukraine in the fall of 2023. Even then, the missile's 165-km range limited Ukraine's ability to strike russian targets. In particular, all russian tactical aviation airfields remain outside its reach.
At the same time, large areas of russia's Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions would fall within the missile's effective range. russian forces use these areas to launch ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities, including 9M723 missiles fired by Iskander-M systems with cluster warheads, which russia recently used to strike Kyiv.
In addition, a number of so-called "drone ports", launch sites used to operate Shahed-type attack drones, are located within a notional 165-km strike zone, allowing for the necessary standoff distance from the front line.
WATCH: Russian cluster-munition missile strike on Kyiv, Ukraine last night. pic.twitter.com/LI3fTLPyVw— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 5, 2026
Examples include Khalino airfield in the Kursk region, the Nyavlya site in the Bryansk region, and the territory of the occupied Donetsk airport.
Therefore, even with the relatively limited range of 165 km, ATACMS could still be put to highly effective use if Ukraine receives the Turkish missiles.
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