Pentagon preparing to send Patriot missile system to Ukraine - The Washington Post

The improvement would correspond the Biden administration’s astir important measurement truthful acold to bolster Ukraine’s aerial defenses. While the United States has provided much than $20 cardinal successful arms and subject instrumentality to Ukraine since the warfare began successful precocious February, it has steadfastly resisted sending immoderate of its astir precocious weaponry, including long-range missiles, combatant jets and conflict tanks, with elder officials saying antecedently they privation to debar making moves Moscow could deem escalatory oregon different would necessitate extended grooming for Ukrainian troops.

The United States has taken different steps to amended Ukrainian aerial defenses, including sending 2 National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, oregon NASAMS, past month. The Pentagon signed a $1.2 cardinal declaration with Raytheon successful November to nonstop six much NASAMS to Ukraine, but it is expected to instrumentality up to 2 years to physique them. U.S. officials besides helped broker a woody with Slovakia, a NATO ally, to nonstop its lone S-300 air-defense strategy to Ukraine successful speech for Patriot units.

It was not wide Tuesday what precisely whitethorn person influenced the Biden administration’s reasoning connected sending the Patriot aft months of having assessed that it was not indispensable oregon possible. A Pentagon spokesman, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, said helium had thing denote connected the issue. The quality was first reported by CNN.

The Patriot strategy relies connected blase radar to observe incoming projectiles and fires long-range missiles to intercept them. Its launchers beryllium connected a motortruck chassis and are highly mobile. About 90 troops are assigned to a emblematic Patriot battery, which includes up to 8 launchers that each clasp 4 ready-to-fire missiles. Only 3 soldiers are needed to run and occurrence the missiles successful the Patriot’s engagement power station, according to the U.S. Army.

It has go a backbone of defence for galore U.S. allies and partners. The United States has its ain Patriot units deployed to countries that see Poland and Saudi Arabia, and has approved the merchantability of the weapons to others similar Romania, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Jake Sullivan, the White House nationalist information adviser, said Monday that the Biden medication wants to blunt “any Russian effort” to summation an precocious manus successful Ukraine, “whether it’s subject vantage oregon vantage done brutalizing and destroying civilian infrastructure.”

The U.S. government’s focus, helium said, “is going to beryllium upon those things that really correspond a genuine menace to Ukraine and the radical of Ukraine,” adding that further announcements of subject enactment are apt successful “coming days.”

Group of Seven countries said successful a associated connection this week that they would proceed to coordinate efforts to conscionable Ukraine’s urgent needs, “with an contiguous absorption connected providing Ukraine with aerial defence systems and capabilities.”