U.S. is considering supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions for MLRS

Support for providing Ukraine with cluster munitions for MLRS is growing in Washington. The Washington Post reports. This ammunition can penetrate deeper than the 155 mm cannon artillery shells that the United States began supplying to the Defense Forces of Ukraine last month.

Biden administration officials assess the likelihood that the war will continue into next year and likely beyond. They are considering several important new augmentations of Western support for Kyiv. There is growing backing in Washington for providing rocket-launched cluster munitions, for example, which could provide a greater range of destruction of Russian positions.

In addition, the United States is also working hard to plan a Ukrainian "force of the future" that could deter continued Russian aggression. The article notes that Ukraine and its supporters continue to plead for long-range missiles, known as ATACMS, that could hit deep behind Russian lines. But the Pentagon continues to resist, largely because officials fear the United States doesn't have enough ATACMS to supply Ukraine without undercutting its own readiness for any future conflict with China.

M142 HIMARS and ATACMS missiles.

Photo by Mariusz Burcz

As Militarnyi previously reported, Kyiv is trying to convince Washington to transfer M26 cluster munitions. These M26 cluster rockets are capable of being used with M142 HIMARS and M270 rocket launchers.

M26 cluster projectile during disposal in Germany.

2012. Photo credits: alamy.es

The journalists had a chance to speak with Dan Rice, the Former Special Advisor to Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief.

M26 rocket

According to him, rocket shells with submunitions have a greater range of defeat than artillery shells.

They could help the Ukrainian army break through Russia's multilayered defense and provide advantage on the battlefield.