Politico: U.S. Prepares to Send ATACMS Munitions to Ukraine

12 March, 2024 ATACMS. Photo credits: Strategic Communications Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine The White House is preparing a new aid package for Ukraine that will include long-range ATACMS missiles.

U.S. officials familiar with the discussions told Politico. The package will include the Anti-Personnel/Anti-Materiel, or APAM, according to one of the officials. According to U.S. officials, the tranche will also include additional rounds for the 155mm howitzers and GMLRS rockets for HIMARS.

The cluster warhead of this missile consists of M74 APAM (Anti-Personnel Anti-Material) submunitions.

ATACMS ? M74 APAM (Anti-Personnel Anti-Material)

The cost of the new military aid currently prepared by The United States is approximately £400 million.

This is the first such move in recent months, as the allocation of additional funds to Kyiv has been blocked in Congress. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the announcement is expected later on Tuesday. One official said that the Pentagon was able to use savings from a previous Army contract for Ukraine weapons.

The Biden Administration is weighing whether it can raise about £200 million in U.S. military funding to provide immediate support to Ukraine.

Meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden on September 21, 2023 in the United States. Photo credits: Office of the President of Ukraine

It was reported that this funding could be used to pay for critical weapons, supplies, and other equipment. As previously reported, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already used ATACMS missiles on the battlefield.

The first official use of ATACMS during the Russian-Ukrainian war took place on October 17 during the Dragonfly operation of the Special Operations Forces.