A U.S. Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launches ordnance during RED FLAG-Alaska 21-1 at Fort Greely, Alaska, Oct. 22, 2020.
On July 8th, an anonymous US defense official was cited by the media claiming that the White House was set to announce a new $400 million aid package to Ukraine on Friday. US President Joe Biden reportedly approved sending more HIMARS to Ukraine.
According to reports, Kiev forces will get the 1,000 rounds of the new 155mm ammunition.
The new munitions offer a similar capability to the U.S. Army’s M982 Excalibur rounds, which provide GPS-guided precision targeting to the M777 Howitzers Washington has sent — and that Kyiv is now using against Russian forces. But the official would not confirm that Excalibur is part of the package.
Yet 1,000 is a fraction of the 36,000 rounds of standard Howitzer shells the U.S. sent to Ukraine in the last aid package. Ukraine typically fires 5,000-6,000 rounds of standard Howitzer ammunition a day, while Russia fires more than twice that amount. – Politico reported.
The U.S. is also providing four additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Ukraine, bringing to 12 the total number. Out of the total promised, 8 HIMARS have already been delivered to Ukraine. Upwards of 100 Ukrainians have been trained on the system to date, a senior military official added.
Click to see full-size image
The United States started providing the key precision rocket weapon system to Ukraine last month after receiving assurances from Kyiv that it would not use them to hit targets inside Russian territory. So far, Ukraine has not used HIMARS systems to strike outside of Ukraine.
On July 6, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that two of the M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers recently supplied to Ukraine by the US had been destroyed.
The latest aid package includes three tactical vehicles, demolition munitions, counter battery systems and spare parts and other equipment, the official said.
