The Biden administration last Friday announced a new $6 billion weapons and equipment package for Ukraine, the second tranche of security assistance for that country’s forces after the Senate passed a $95 billion supplemental funding bill that includes nearly $61 billion in aid for Ukraine.
The new package is being provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) that gives the U.S. government authority to buy directly from U.S. defense contractors. The initial $1 billion lot announced last Wednesday will be used to pull weapons and other equipment from existing Defense Department stocks.
“This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to acquire additional priority capabilities for Ukraine,” DoD said in a statement about the $6 billion bundle. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a Pentagon briefing said the package is the largest so far for Ukraine.
The new assistance includes additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems, and for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, both of which are in high demand in Ukraine as their stocks of these weapons have run down due to wide-scale Russian missile and drone attacks against urban centers and infrastructure, and because the U.S. has only provided scant aid since previous congressionally-approved funding ran out in late 2023.
Ukraine’s air defense capabilities are being further strengthened with equipment that integrates “Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars with Ukraine’s air defense systems,” and with counter-drone systems, DoD said. The specific systems are not outlined in the aid package but DoD has been providing Ukraine with an assortment of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and equipment to combat the ubiquitous threat from Russian drones on the battlefield that are being used for intelligence, targeting, reconnaissance, battle damage assessment, and as remotely guided munitions.
Other items in the security package include munitions for laser-guided rocket systems, multi-mission radars, counter-artillery radars, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 155mmand 152mm artillery rounds, precision aerial munitions, Switchblade loitering munitions and Puma UAS—both of which are provided by AeroVironment [AVAV]—tactical vehicles to tow weapons and equipment, demolition munitions, components to help Ukraine produce UAS and other equipment, small arms and related ammunition, and other times and support for training, maintenance and sustainment.
The smaller aid package last week also included ammunition for HIMARS, 155mm rounds, precision aerial munitions, and towing vehicles. In addition, that assistance also provides shoulder-fired anti-armor weapons, infantry fighting and other protected vehicles, and other missiles, munitions, and equipment.
The administration has not said if long-range, precision-strike ATACMS missiles are part of the recent assistance packages but last week media reports cited administration officials as saying that a small aid package announced in March contained some long-range ATACMS. The longer-range precision weapons are seen as crucial to hitting key infrastructure nodes and large weapons and related stockpiles.
About the new USAI funds, Austin said how fast these translate to equipment in the hands of Ukrainian forces depends on the lead times for each system.
“You can rest assured that we’re going to move as fast as we can to get them the capability as fast as industry can produce, but we will move at the speed of industry,” Austin said. “And we’re investing in industry as well so that they can expand their capacity. And some of what’s in that supplemental allows us to do that.”