Pentagon reveals details of $300 million aid package for Ukraine

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced a new security assistance package to address Ukraine's critical security and defense needs. The new aid package includes military equipment, supplies, and ammunition, which will be immediately transferred to the Armed Forces as part of the £300 million presidential reduction.

It includes ammunition for HIMARS, infantry weapons, additional howitzers, automotive equipment, artillery and mortar ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment. This is the thirty-seventh seizure of equipment and weapons from the warehouses of the U.S. Department of Defense, which the Biden administration has authorized since August 2021.

Details of the new package:

  • Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
  • 155mm Howitzers;
  • 155mm artillery rounds;
  • 120mm, 81mm, and 60mm mortar rounds;
  • Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
  • AT-4 and Carl Gustaf anti-armor weapon systems;
  • Hydra-70 aircraft rockets;
  • Small arms and small arms ammunition;
  • Demolition munitions for obstacle clearing;
  • Trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment;
  • Testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair;
  • Spare parts and other field equipment.

Hydra 70

Hydra 70 is an American 70mm unguided rocket used to defeat enemy equipment and manpower.

?????? ??????????? ?????? Hydra 70 ? ???????? ??????????? Apache AH-64 The launch of a Hydra 70 unguided rockets from an Apache AH-64 attack helicopter

The effective range of the Hydra 70 ranges from 500 to 8,000 meters depending on the warhead and launch platform, and the maximum range under optimal conditions is 10,500 meters.

The likely purpose of these missiles may be to fill a niche of Soviet S-8 80mm unguided rockets used by Ukrainian army aviation, mainly Su-25 attack aircraft and Mi-8 or Mi-24 helicopters. It is known that the reserves of these types of weapons in the Ukrainian army are almost exhausted and are periodically replenished with analogues of Bulgarian and Iranian production.

Artillery

In its report, the U.S. Department of Defense did not indicate the number and type of artillery systems planned for transfer.

The type could probably be related to towed artillery.

The conclusion about the type of artillery can be drawn by paying attention to the language used by the Pentagon in such announcements: when transferring ?109 self-propelled howitzers the Pentagon called them as "155mm self-propelled Howitzer," instead while transferring ?777 towed howitzers it used the term "155mm Howitzer."

The M777 howitzer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Photo credits: ArmyInform

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