Pentagon published details of $1.85 billion aid package to Ukraine

21 December, 2022 Patriot SAM system launchers. Photo credits: U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Department of Defense has officially disclosed the items on the list of new security assistance to Ukraine. The new aid package will include one Patriot air defense battery and munitions.

There were long discussions in the USA about the transfer of these weapons to Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that £850 million of the mentioned funds are provided by the Pentagon.

U.S. President Joe Biden authorized £1 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The new aid package includes means of launching high-precision strikes, as well as additional ammunition and critical equipment.

Capabilities in this package include:

• One Patriot air defense battery and munitions;
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
• 10 120mm mortar systems and 10,000 120mm mortar rounds;
• 10 82mm mortar systems;
• 10 60mm mortar systems;
• 37 Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles;
• 120 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
• Six armored utility trucks;
• High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
• Precision aerial munitions;
• Over 2,700 grenade launchers and small arms;
• Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
• Demolition munitions and equipment;
• Night vision devices and optics;
• Tactical secure communications systems;
• Body armor and other field equipment.

"Today's assistance for the first time includes the Patriot Air Defense System, capable of bringing down cruise missiles, short range ballistic missiles, and aircraft at a significantly higher ceiling than previously provided air defense systems," Blinken said. Ukraine also received an aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). Under USAI, the DoD will also provide Ukraine with:

• 45,000 152mm artillery rounds;
• 20,000 122mm artillery rounds;
• 50,000 122mm GRAD rockets;
• 100,000 rounds of 125mm tank ammunition;
• SATCOM terminals and services;
• Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment.

While Ukraine receives weapons from the Pentagon's stocks under the Presidential Drawdown, the United States procures capabilities from industry or orders the modernization of existing weapons in the framework of the USAI programs.