The war in Ukraine continues to drag on, with the four-month mark just around the corner. Although the Ukrainian military is putting up an admirable fight against the Russian forces, Kyiv lacks the weapon systems to truly make a difference on the ground.
In response to repeated calls for more weapons, the U.S. has greenlighted yet another security package, valued at $1 billion, to Ukraine full of interesting guns.
More Weapons to Ukraine
On Wednesday, the White House greenlighted another package of security aid to Ukraine, the 12th since last August
The package includes the following weapon systems:
- 18 M-777 155mm Howitzers;
- 36,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition;
- 18 Tactical vehicles to tow the M-777 Howitzers;
- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (MLRS);
- Four Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment;
- Spare parts and other equipment.
- Two Harpoon coastal defense systems;
- Thousands of secure radios;
- Thousands of Night Vision devices, thermal sights, and other optics;
- Funding for training, maintenance, sustainment, transportation, and administrative costs.
In terms of where the funds are coming from, the security aid package is broken down into two parts. Out of the $1 billion, $650 million are coming out of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and the $350 million left from a Presidential Drawdown.
Harpoon Block II. Image Credit: Boeing.
WATERS NEAR GUAM (Mar. 10, 2016) – Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) conducts a live fire of a harpoon missile during Multi-Sail 2016. Multi Sail is a bilateral training exercise aimed at interoperability between the U.S. and Japanese forces. This exercise builds interoperability and benefits from realistic, shared training, enhancing our ability to work together to confront any contingency. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eric Coffer/Released)
A view of an RGM-84 surface-to-surface Harpoon missile, immediately after leaving a canister launcher aboard the cruiser USS LEAHY (CG-16), near the Pacific Missile Test Center, Calif.
The star of the latest package is the AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile Harpoon missile, an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile that can help Ukraine fend off the Russian Navy in the Black Sea. The Ukrainians have already used anti-ship cruise missiles effectively when they sunk the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, earlier in the conflict with two Neptune anti-ship missiles.
A soldier from the Idaho Army National Guard, Charlie Company, 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team makes Idaho National Guard history with the first firing of a Javelin anti-tank missile.
In a historic moment of training for the Idaho Army National Guard, soldiers from Charlie Company, 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, fired the FGM – Javelin portable anti-tank missile on Sunday while conducting a series of field training exercises scheduled for the week on the Orchard Combat Training Center ranges.
Spc. Chengjie Liu (right), fires an AT-4 anti-tank weapon as Sgt. Jacob Saccameno, both infantrymen assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, supervises and assists during an anti-tank and air defense artillery range, April 23, at Adazi Military Base, Latvia. American and Latvian soldiers trained using a variety of weapons, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Carl Gustav recoilless anti-tank rifles and the RBS-70 Short-range air defense laser guided missile system. Soldiers from five North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations, including Canada, Germany and Lithuania, have been conducting a variety of training together during Summer Shield XIII, an annual two-week long interoperability training event in Latvia. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Paige Behringer)
Javelin anti-tank missile being fired along with a mortar. Image credit: UK government.
Total U.S. Security Aid
Thus far, the U.S. military has provided or committed to supplying its Ukrainian counterpart with the following weapons systems:
- Over 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;
- Over 6,500 Javelin anti-armor systems;
- Over 20,000 other anti-armor systems;
- Over 700 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Manufacturer Handout.
Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Industry Handout.
Switchblade drone. Image Credit: Industry handout.
Switchblade drone. Image Credit: Industry handout.
- 126 155mm Howitzers and over 256,000 155mm artillery rounds;
- 108 Tactical Vehicles to tow 155mm Howitzers;
- 19 Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment;
- High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;
- Two Harpoon coastal defense systems;
- 20 Mi-17 helicopters;
- Hundreds of Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles;
- 200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;
- Over 7,000 small arms;
- Over 50,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition;
Stinger missile being fired. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA (March 23, 2018) U.S. Marines with Marine Air Control Group (MACG) 28 Low Altitude Air Defense (LAAD) Detachment, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 162 (Reinforced), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), fire a Stinger trainer missile at a Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier during a Stinger Trainer Launch Simulator (STLS) shoot aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) in the Mediterranean Sea, March 23, 2018. Iwo Jima and the 26th MEU are conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sylvia L. Tapia/Released)
NATO Stinger missile. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
- 75,000 sets of body armor and helmets;
- 121 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
- Laser-guided rocket systems;
- Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems;
- Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels;
- 22 counter-artillery radars;
- Four counter-mortar radars;
- Four air surveillance radars;
- M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
- C-4 explosives and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing;
M777 artillery like those being used in Ukraine.
U.S. Soldiers assigned to Attack Battery, 2-12th Field Artillery Battalion, Task Force Rock, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducts registration and calibration for the M777 A2 Howitzer weapon system in Syria on Sept. 30, 2021. These exercises enable gun sections to deliver timely and accurate fires in support of TF Rock and their fight to defeat Daesh in designated areas of Syria. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Isaiah Scott). These are similar to the M777 pieces serving in Ukraine.
U.S. Marines fire an M777 Howitzer during Exercise Rolling Thunder 1-22 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S. October 19, 2021. Picture taken October 19, 2021. U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr./Handout
- Tactical secure communications systems;
- Night vision devices, thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders;
- Commercial satellite imagery services;
- Explosive ordnance disposal protective gear;
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment;
- Medical supplies to include first aid kits;
- Electronic jamming equipment;
- Field equipment and spare parts.
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 2-11 Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, conduct field artillery training on Warrior Base, New Mexico Range, Demilitarized Zone, Republic of Korea, March 15, 2015. The training was a part of joint training exercise Foal Eagle 2015 between the U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) Armies. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Steven Hitchcock/Released)
U.S. Marines with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force attached to 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd MarDiv, III MEF, fire the M777A2 155mm howitzer in support of a combined arms live-fire exercise at Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex during Korean Marine Exchange Program 13-5, part of Ssang Yong 13 in the Republic of Korea April 17, 2013. The CALFEX illustrates how the annual exercise Ssang Yong supports ongoing efforts to strengthen combat readiness in both U.S. and ROK forces. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jose D. Lujano III MEF PAO/Released)
Soldiers serving with Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Division, shoot a round down range from their M777A2 howitzer on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2014. The round was part of a shoot to register, or zero, the howitzers, which had just arrived on KAF from Forward Operating Base Pasab. The shoot also provided training for a fire support team from 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th IBCT, 4th Inf. Div.
SYRIA – U.S. Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fire an M777 Howitzer during a fire mission in northern Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, Mar. 24, 2017. The unit provided 24/7 support in all weather conditions to allow for troop movements, to include terrain denial and the subduing of enemy forces. More than 60 regional and international nations have joined together to enable partnered forces to defeat ISIS and restore stability and security. CJTF-OIR is the global Coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
1945’s New Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
