U.S. to announce $1.3 bln military aid package for Ukraine
18 July, 2023 VAMPIRE missile system. Photo from the manufacturer's page The United States will announce a new pledge to buy £1.3 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine in the coming days.
The Reuters news agency reported on this with reference to two U.S. officials. One of those U.S. officials told reporters that the previously unreported weapons package includes air defenses and counter-drone systems. The package will include exploding drones and ammunition.
In particular, there are two different types of loitering munitions, the Phoenix Ghost drone, made by AVEVEX and the Switchblade, made by AeroVironment Inc (AVAV.O). For Ukraine, they plan to buy, in particular, VAMPIRE systems, which are designed to shoot down drones. The package will also include other counter-drone systems.
Vampire Multifunctional missile systems of the American L3Harris company, which can be included in defense assistance to Ukraine
The VAMPIRE (Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment) missile system is based on the APKWS missile.
VAMPIRE can be mounted on a variety of transport platforms, namely, on passenger SUVs. APKWS can hit aerial targets, which turns it into a short-range SAM when used in the VAMPIRE kit. Additionally, an official said Ukraine will get a significant number of counter-drone systems made by Australia's DroneShield Ltd alongside radars, sensors, and analysis systems.
DroneShield uses a multi-layered solution based on artificial intelligence to both detect and engage targets. In particular, the company offers stationary Drone Sentry systems for automated long-range warning, protection, and monitoring of activity in local airspace, which Ukraine is likely to receive.
Stationary Drone Sentry systems of the DroneShield company, which can be included in defense assistance to Ukraine. Photo from the company's page
Delivery of the weapons and systems depends on their availability and production timeline. The contents and value of the package may also change until the announcement.
The Pentagon has provided more than £10.8 billion in security assistance for Ukraine under the USAI in fiscal year 2023, in seven separate tranches. The planned package would be the eighth. In the fiscal year that ended Sept.
30, 2022, Washington put £6.3 billion worth of USAI funds to work buying for Ukraine's defense.