On June 15, 2022, US President Joe Biden announced the provision of a new package of military assistance to Ukraine totaling $ 1 billion, as well as the allocation of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the amount of $ 225 million. Thus, the total amount of US military aid officially allocated to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 now reaches $5.6 billion.
Launch of the Boeing Harpoon anti-ship missile (c) US Department of Defense
According to the official information of the US Department of Defense, the new package of military assistance to Ukraine is divided into two parts. $ 350 million is allocated by the orders of the US President within his administrative powers (Presidential Drawdown of Security Assistance - PDA) and represents the operational allocation of property from the presence of the US Department of Defense. Another $650 million is allocated from the budget in accordance with the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program and represents the first tranche of the $9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine approved by the US Congress as part of the well-known $40 billion package of assistance to Ukraine and other Eastern European allies of the United States. These funds were allocated for the production and purchase of new military equipment for Ukraine.
It is reported that as part of a package of $ 350 million for PDA, Ukraine will be provided from the availability of:
- 18 towed M777 155 mm howitzers
- 18 tractors for them
- 36 thousand artillery rounds of 155 mm caliber
- additional nameable number of GMLRS guided missiles for the previously allocated four combat vehicles of the M142 HIMARS missile system
- four repair evacuation vehicles [possibly M1249]
- spare parts and other property.
In turn, as part of a package of $ 650 million under the USAI program for Ukraine, the following should be purchased::
- two coastal anti-ship missile systems Harpoon Coastal Defense System with anti-ship missiles Harpoon.
- "thousands" of protected radio stations
- "thousands" of night vision devices, thermal imaging sights and optical devices.
- also, within the framework of this package, funds are allocated under the USAI program for the training of Ukrainian personnel, maintenance and transportation of the provided property, etc.
The message about the planned provision of two coastal anti-ship missile systems with Harpoon missiles to Ukraine caused the greatest resonance from this list. At a press conference at the Pentagon on June 15, unnamed senior representatives of the US Department of Defense explained that these two complexes will be made on automobile chassis and will be developed and manufactured by American industry in a short time, and their delivery will be made to Ukraine within a few months. At the same time, the Harpoon missiles themselves will be provided for them by unnamed partner countries. It was emphasized that the coastal mobile launchers will be of new production from the USA, and not from Denmark.
Recall that the mobile coastal anti-ship missile system with RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II missiles, designated as the Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS), is being developed by Boeing Corporation as part of an order from Taiwan, which concluded an agreement with the US government in 2021 on procurement through the US program of intergovernmental foreign military sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) 25 such complexes (batteries) (a total of 100 four-container mobile launchers, 25 mobile radar posts and 400 Boeing RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles) for an estimated amount of $ 2.37 billion. On September 28, 2021, the US Department of Defense issued Boeing a contract worth $ 220 million for the full-scale development of coastal missile HCDS complex with Harpoon Block II missiles for Taiwan, with a completion date in July 2023. On March 2, 2022, the US Department of Defense issued Boeing a contract worth $ 498.31 million already for the production of these 100 mobile launchers and 25 mobile radar stations of HCDS complexes for subsequent delivery to Taiwan through the American FMS program until December 2028. Taiwanese sources reported that the start of deliveries of HCDS complexes is expected in 2023. It is still unclear whether the HCDS complex for Ukraine will be identical to the Taiwanese one (or even the complexes for Ukraine will be taken from among the first ones manufactured for Taiwan), or will represent a more "fast" semi-improvised solution.
As for the supply of howitzers, earlier from April to early June, in previous aid packages, the United States allocated to Ukraine from the availability of 108 light towed M777 155 mm/39 howitzers, 90 Oshkosh FMTV M1083 (6x6) tractors for them and 224 thousand artillery rounds to them. Now the total number of M777 howitzers transferred by the USA to the Ukrainian side will reach 126, and Oshkosh FMTV M1083 tractors for them - 108 (judging by the widespread video, KrAZ 6x6 cars are used to tow the first 18 M777 howitzers received by Ukraine).
