Pentagon acknowledges sending undisclosed anti-radar missiles to Ukraine

(CNN) — The Pentagon announced Monday that the US has sent anti-radar missiles to Ukrainian aircraft to target Russian radar systems, marking the first time the Defense Department has acknowledged sending the previously undisclosed missile to Ukraine.

Colin Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told a news conference that the US sent “several” missiles without specifying how many the US provided or when they were sent.

Kahl did not explicitly say what type of anti-radiation missile was sent.
A defense official told the CNN that the type of missile sent was the AGM-88 High-Speed ​​Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM).

Produced by Raytheon, HARMs have a range in excess of 30 miles, according to the US Air Force, making them one of the long-range weapons the US has supplied to Ukraine. The missiles can be used to target Russian anti-aircraft radar systems such as the S-400, which made it very difficult for the Ukrainian Air Force to operate over large areas of Ukrainian airspace. The missiles can also hit Russian counter-battery radars, which Russia uses to target Ukrainian artillery.

Kahl said the missiles were sent “in recent packages [da Autoridade de Retirada Presidencial]”, but the five most recent packages, dated July 1, do not mention HARMs.

“In the short term, we’ve done a lot to make Ukraine’s existing air force stay in the air and be more capable,” Kahl said.

He pointed to spare parts for the Mig-29s the US helped send to Ukraine to keep Soviet-era fighters flying. Kahl then mentioned the missiles, saying they “can have effects on Russian radars and stuff.”

Ukrainians have not publicly acknowledged receiving or using HARMs.

In recent days, open source reports have shown the remains of what appears to be the fin of a HARM missile that hit a Russian position in Ukraine.

Kahl announced the missiles at a briefing on the Pentagon’s latest $1 billion weapons package for Ukraine, the largest US weapons package to date.

The package was focused on supplying ammunition for some of the major weapons systems the US shipped to Ukraine. This includes the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which the Ukrainian military has used effectively to target Russian command posts, ammunition depots, and more, as well as the M777 howitzers that have been a critical part of the fighting in the Donbas. , region of eastern Ukraine.

Russia, Kahl said, has had approximately 70,000-80,000 war casualties, including killed and wounded in action, so far in the conflict.

“That number might be a little lower, a little higher, but I think it’s kind of there,” he said. He also added that Russia lost between 3,000 and 4,000 armored vehicles.

With this latest package, the US has pledged to send Ukraine a total of $9.1 billion in security assistance since the start of the Russian invasion in late February.

SOURCE: CNN