POLITICO: The decision to transfer ATACMS to Ukraine dates back to August
The decision to transfer ATACMS missiles to Ukraine was made by the United States on August 30, 2023. POLITICO revealed the details of the transfer approval process. According to the media, a joint team of the National Security Council and the Department of Defense decided in July that they could provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with missiles capable of hitting targets at a distance of 160 km.
The Americans agreed to provide the APAM variant of the ATACMS (Anti-personnel and Anti-material).
ATACMS APAM Block I
Obviously, these are M39 missiles (ATACMS Block I) armed with 950 M74 submunitions. This is the older version of the ATACMS. According to open sources, the M39 was produced from 1990 to 1995.
A total of 1650 missiles were assembled. The U.S. Army used 411 of them during two Iraqi campaigns.
It is known that another 220 M39 missiles were upgraded to the M57E1 version in 2017 by replacing the engine and warhead.
Thus, the U.S. arsenal could theoretically have about 1,000 M39 missiles.
The M270 MLRS launches an ATACMS missile.
1990. Photo credits: Tara Hutcheson
This version of the missile can be launched by all M270 and M142 launchers.
The team of the Department of Defense and the National Security Council presented a draft decision to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on August 23. And on August 30, the decision was unanimously approved at a meeting of the Biden administration's top national security officials. The decision was also supported by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
Previously, they opposed the idea of transferring ATACMS to Ukraine because of the limited stock of these weapons in the United States.
Meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden on September 21, 2023 in the United States
Joe Biden informed the Ukrainian President of the positive decision on September 21. The APAM ATACMS missiles were included in the aid package on September 21. They were "disguised" under the heading "cluster munitions."
According to POLITICO, a series of new ATACMS strikes against Russian soldiers are expected in the coming weeks.
U.S. officials still require Ukraine to refrain from using American weapons to strike inside Russia, but there are no restrictions on using the equipment to hit targets within the occupied Crimean peninsula.