Washington DC: The US has announced a historic $6 billion aid for war-torn Ukraine. US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C. Q. Brown, Jr. held a press brief today in which he announced the historic package for Ukraine. This security assistance package from the US will address Ukraine’s ongoing battlefield needs and demonstrate unwavering US support for Ukraine.
I’m also pleased to announce today an additional commitment of $6 billion through our Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative that will allow us to procure new capabilities for Ukraine from U.S. industry. This is the largest security assistance package that we’ve committed to date,” Austin said at a press conference after the 21st meeting of Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein format) on Friday.
The package provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) using funding appropriated by the national security supplemental which the President just signed into law, includes equipment to augment Ukraine’s air defences, fires, and artillery, and to sustain capabilities previously committed by the United States.
Unlike the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which DoD has continued to leverage to deliver equipment to Ukraine from DoD stocks at a historic pace, including through the $ 1 billion package announced on April 24, USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from U.S. industry or partners. This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to acquire additional priority capabilities for Ukraine.
The capabilities in this announcement includes additional munitionds for the Patriot Air Defence systems, additional munitions for the National Advanced Surface To Air Missile Systems (NASAMS). It also includes equipment to intrgrste Western air defence launchers, missiles and radars, with Ukraine’s air defence systems. Additional ammo for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), multi-mission radars, counter-artillery radars, counter-UAS equipment and systems, and ammunition for laser guided rocket systems are also included in the package.
The package also included 155mm and 152mm artillery rounds, precision aerial munitions, switchblade and Puma unmanned aerial systems, tactical vehicles to tow weapons and equipment, demolition munitions, components to support Ukrainian production of UAS and other capabilities, small arms and additional small arms ammunition and the ancillary items and support for training, maintenance, and sustainment activities.
The UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) sometimes also called Unmanned Aircraft Systems , are sets of configurable electronic and electromechanical components consisting of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a remote electronic controller, and a command and control data system/link connecting the two so that they can communicate.
This USAI package highlights the strong and unwavering U.S. commitment to meet Ukraine’s most pressing immediate and longer-term capability needs to fight Russian aggression as part of the global coalition we have built with some 50 Allies and partners. During the briefing Defence Secretary Austin also emphasised upon the need to provide aid to Isarael during its current war against Hamas and Iran.
Brown and Austin also talked about the UAS systems which they said helped saved countless lives and how this system helped saved countless Ukranian lives and said that this coalition stands together. They also said that US will help Ukraine build future force which will help Ukraine equip and train with advance futuristic weapons and prepare for any future engagement with Russia or any other country.
The article claims that the package may eventually be decided upon and made public as early as this Friday. During a virtual conference of the more than 50 countries that make up the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is anticipated to announce the fresh assistance.
Along with an additional $1 billion in aid announced by Washington on Wednesday amid reports that Russian forces are outnumbered and outgunned by Ukraine’s and Russia’s fully operational armaments industries, the package will be included in the $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that President Joseph Biden signed on Wednesday. “The Russians will work three shifts a day, seven days a week. According to a news outlet, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Garron Garn stated on Wednesday that whereas they spend six to seven percent of their GDP on the military, we only spend roughly three percent.
The UK is said to have unveiled its greatest aid package to date, consisting of 1,600 missiles and several dozen Storm Shadows, shortly after the US made a comparable commitment of $1 billion for long-range missiles and emergency relief. Additionally, France deployed SCALP missiles.
