At the moment, they are being deployed in Ukraine, said Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg HayesNEW YORK, October 26.
/tass/. The United States handed over to Ukraine the first two NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs). This statement was made on Tuesday by Greg Hayes, CEO of NASAMS manufacturer, the American company Raytheon Technologies, in an interview with CNBC.
"We have just delivered two NASAMS complexes," he said. "We handed over two [complexes] to the [US] government a couple of weeks ago. They are already being deployed in Ukraine today," said the CEO of Raytheon Technologies.
Last week, a high-ranking Pentagon official told reporters that the US authorities expect to hand over the first NASAMS air defense systems to Kiev in the coming weeks. On October 11, the coordinator for strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, said that the US authorities expect to transfer the first two NASAMS complexes to Kiev "in the very near future." In total, according to him, the United States intends to supply Ukraine with eight such systems. Deliveries are planned to be carried out within the framework of the initiative to promote the security of Ukraine, which involves the conclusion by the US Defense Department of contracts with manufacturers, and not the provision of equipment directly from the Pentagon reserves.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request from the leaders of the Donbass republics for help. The West then imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia. Western states have increased the supply of weapons and military equipment to Kiev in the amount of billions of dollars.