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Ukraine Is Getting Hawk Missiles Systems to Fight Russia

HAWK Missiles. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
HAWK Missiles. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Spain to Send HAWK Missile Systems to Ukraine: In a tweet on Friday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed that the Spanish government had agreed to help bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities with a new shipment of HAWK surface-to-air missile systems.

Reznikov confirmed that he hosted Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles in Odesa this week and confirmed plans for HAWK missile systems to be sent to Ukraine from Spain.

The Ukrainian official also confirmed that more Ukrainian soldiers would be sent to Spain for training purposes.

Hosted [Spanish] #DefMin Margarita Robles in Odesa. We honored the memory of heroes who died in battles for [Ukraine] and visited our soldiers in a hospital. [Spain] stands with Ukraine],” Reznikov said on Twitter.

An additional two HAWK air defense systems will be sent to Ukraine from Spain in addition to four that have already been sent to the country in the wake of Russia’s decision to initiate widespread missile and drone strike campaigns across Ukrainian cities.

Speaking to journalists in Madrid, Defense Minister Robles confirmed that more were on their way.

“I can tell you that two more launchers will be sent. This is in response to a very specific request made to us by NATO and Ukraine,” Robles explained.

What is the HAWK?

The MIM-23 HAWK is an American-made, medium-range surface-to-air missile system designed to protect against incoming missiles and to destroy aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles. A radar-homing missile system, the HAWK is an ultra-portable solution for launching precision-guided missile strikes.

In service since 1960, the MIM-23 HAWK has seen many variations over the decades and roughly 40,000 units have been manufactured over the last 62 years.

U.S. “Complements” Spain’s Commitments in Ukraine

On November 10, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that ongoing Russian missile strikes in Ukraine had prompted the provision of “additional air defense capabilities” to Ukraine.

In a statement, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh revealed that the United States would provide HAWK missiles as part of a new $400 million presidential drawdown authority security assistance package.

“The HAWK missiles, which will be refurbished using Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds, will complement Spain’s recent commitment of HAWK launchers to help Ukraine meet this threat,” Singh said.

“The Avenger short-range air defense systems will also provide Ukraine with the capability to protect Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure against unmanned aerial systems and helicopters.”

Singh did not provide details on the number of HAWK missile systems that would be provided to Ukraine but did say that the missile launchers headed to Ukraine would first need to undergo refurbishment.

Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor.

Written By

Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive's Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

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