US Defense Secretary mentioned Washington will ship 4 extra Himars superior rocket techniques for a complete of 16.

Washington:

The United States will present 4 extra precision rocket techniques to Ukraine to assist it battle Russia’s invasion, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned Wednesday.

His Ukrainian counterpart had requested the day earlier than for Washington to ship extra M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars) saying Kyiv’s forces have used them to destroy some 30 Russian command stations and ammunition depots thus far.

Washington will ship “four more Himars advanced rocket systems for a total of 16. The Ukrainians have made excellent use of Himars, and you can see the impact on the battlefield,” Austin instructed journalists on the Pentagon.

“Russia is keeping up its relentless shelling, and that’s a cruel tactic that harkens back to the horrors of World War I. So Ukraine needs the firepower and the ammunition to withstand this barrage and to strike back,” he mentioned.

The United States may even ship further GMLRS ammunition, which might exactly strike targets as much as 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Tuesday requested a significant improve within the variety of Himars, saying not less than 100 have been wanted for an efficient counter-offensive towards Moscow’s troops.

Reznikov additionally renewed a name for longer-range ammunition — 100 to 150 kilometers — to chop off Russian items from their assist.

Asked about longer-range ammunition on Wednesday, Austin mentioned: “We think what they have and what they’re working with is really giving them a lot of capability.”

Top US normal Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, famous that Himars launchers can maintain six GMLRS rockets however just one ATACMS missile — which might strike targets as much as 300 kilometers away — which means there’s a trade-off between quantity and vary.

“Right now, the GMLRS is really fulfilling their need,” Milley mentioned.

President Joe Biden’s administration has thus far refused to ship longer-range ammunition, fearing that Ukraine would strike targets inside Russian territory and probably increase the warfare right into a direct conflict with the West.

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