The US makes a huge commitment. Hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons
10:06 AM EDT, November 4, 2023
The United States has rolled out its 50th weapons package for Ukraine, promising weaponry worth 425 million dollars.
The Pentagon, on Friday, unveiled its latest and 50th initiative to support Ukraine with a weapons package. The package comprises additional ammunition for NASAMS air defense systems and laser-guided missiles primarily for drone combat. The entire package is valued at 425 million dollars.
Under this initiative, The United States is set to equip Ukraine with assets from its own stockpile. This includes missiles for NASAMS and HIMARS systems, artillery ammunition, TOW, Javelin, and AT-4 anti-tank missiles, Claymore anti-personnel mines, as well as trucks and winter gear.
Moreover, under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), the American administration will procure more laser-guided missiles for Ukraine to supplement anti-drone systems.
The estimated value of the provided ammunition and equipment is 125 million dollars, and the additional purchase of missiles forms the second part of the package costing up to 300 million dollars.
Purchasing anti-drone missiles will deplete the funds in the USAI. Despite this, the Pentagon still retains the prerogative to supply Ukraine with its own equipment worth over 5 billion dollars. The Department of Defense has called on Congress for extra funding for this purpose, funds that are expected to last through the entire fiscal year, ending in September 2024.
This marks the 50th round of arms supply by the United States to Ukraine. The total value of both provided and pledged assistance stands at over 44 billion dollars.