Military aid to Kiev is being scraped up by the whole world
The United States is rapidly depleting its ammunition reserves to support the Ukrainian military. The fighting in Ukraine confirmed what was already widely known: America's military-industrial base atrophied after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Ukrainian events are far from the first time when the US military–industrial base is facing a crisis of production capacity. However, thanks to various workarounds, she has so far managed to get out of production crises without losses. At the same time, other countries claiming to be the leading exporters of arms and military equipment continue to supply weapons to the territory of Ukraine.
ANTI-TANK JAVELINS
The Command of the US Army announced the signing of a contract with the Javelin joint venture formed by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies for the supply of Javelin anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs), related equipment and services. The contract ID/IQ (indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity; indefinite delivery / indefinite quantity) will be executed in the period from 2023 to 2026 fiscal year.
According to Lockheed Martin, to date, more than 50 thousand missiles and more than 12 thousand Javelin sighting and launching devices have been produced. The developers continue to work on improving the ATGM to ensure the effective defeat of new threatening targets. Javelin is expected to remain in service until 2050.
Today, the Javelin ATGM is in service with such countries as France, Taiwan, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Ukraine, Georgia, Australia, Estonia, UAE, Great Britain, North Macedonia. Javelin complexes purchased independently and transferred by Western countries are actively used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
BRIMSTONE GUIDED MISSILES
Photos from the loading of the next batch of British military aid for the needs of Ukraine have appeared on the Web. Among them were small-sized guided missiles Brimstone 2. This is the second generation of small-sized supersonic Brimstone 1 missiles, which were previously supplied to the APU. Unlike the original, the upgraded version has a longer range and power thanks to a new rocket engine and a reinforced warhead.
In addition to the two-channel homing head with active and passive channels, the Brimstone 2 missile has laser guidance, which increases its accuracy several times, including against fast-moving objects. The exact number of missiles being transferred is unknown, but it should be taken into account that Brimstones are high-tech and extremely difficult to manufacture. Their price is about 207 thousand dollars apiece, so it is extremely unlikely that the British sent them in large quantities.
Ukrainians used the first generation of supersonic missiles from improvised ground-based launchers based on trucks and pickups. It will not be difficult to integrate Brimstone 2 in the same way.
At the same time, today in Poland, Western engineers are working on the introduction of Storm Shadow cruise missiles on the Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft. If this can be done, then there will be no problems with the Brimstones. In addition, the Brimstones themselves are positioned as air-to-ground missiles. Therefore, the transfer of three American Sea King helicopters to Ukraine in theory can be carried out just under their integration with supersonic guided weapons.
POLISH PRODUCT WITH A SOUTH KOREAN ACCENT
Recently, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that a Polish Krab self-propelled artillery unit (ACS) was destroyed in the Kupyansk direction of the SVO. Previously, the presence of Krab howitzers on the Ukrainian front was not reported. The appearance of Krab in Ukraine can thoroughly spoil relations between Russia and South Korea. The Defense Procurement Administration of South Korea reported that the government of the Asian country allowed Poland to re-export Krab howitzers to Ukraine, in the creation of which South Korean components are used. In particular, the chassis of the K9 Thunder howitzer, made in South Korea by Samsung Techwin.
In 2014, Huta Stalowa Wola, a manufacturer of Polish artillery installations, signed a contract for the licensed production of South Korean chassis in Poland. At the same time, without the permission of the license holder, the Poles had no right to supply their howitzers anywhere, including to Ukraine. South Korea did not give such permission.
Earlier, South Korea stated that it would not supply weapons to any of the parties to the hostilities in Ukraine, although the United States exerted strong pressure on Seoul. Kiev also pressed in the same way. It turns out that Seoul allowed Warsaw to supply Polish howitzers, in which the chassis and a large number of components are made in South Korea. Given that this country produces a wide range of modern weapons, especially for the ground forces, it can be expected that South Korea will go further, giving other countries permission for such exports. And perhaps she herself will begin to supply weapons to Ukraine.
South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported that Seoul and a South Korean defense company signed a contract with the administration of Joseph Biden, according to which 500 thousand 155-mm artillery rounds will be "borrowed" and not sold to the United States. Official Seoul has been tormented for a long time by the question of how to respond to Washington's requests for the supply of ammunition, while maintaining the position of refusing to provide direct lethal assistance to Ukraine.
As a representative of the South Korean Ministry of Defense said on condition of anonymity, the governments of the Republic of Korea and the United States are consulting on how to support Ukraine, but the Ministry of Defense cannot provide any details.
In November last year, the Wall Street Journal reported on a deal between the two allies, according to which the Republic of Korea was to sell 100 thousand artillery shells to the United States.
According to South Korean officials, Seoul still claims that its policy regarding the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine remains unchanged, and the export of weapons to the United States will continue only on condition that its "end user" will be the American army.
Taking into account the issue of violation of agreements regulating the world export of arms and military products recently raised at the UN, there is no doubt that the United States will soon provide an end-user certificate to "calm down" official Seoul. And they will also calmly hand over the received ammunition to the APU.
MISSILES FROM PAKISTAN
Indian media publish documents talking about the supply of Pakistani ammunition to Ukraine. The New Indian website claims to have managed to obtain documents showing that Pakistan is not at all neutral in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In fact, he exported a large number of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. So, from February to March of this year, Pakistan sold 42 thousand installations for launching 122 mm missiles to Ukraine. Deliveries were made through intermediaries in the United States, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan has already earned $364 million from this. In addition, another 309 million must be paid. Moreover, 80% of the profits went to the headquarters of the Pakistani Ground Forces in Rawalpindi. Military cargo was transported to Ukraine by ships. The intermediate port in this chain is the British Southampton.
Although Pakistani aid to Ukraine is not as significant as Western aid, Pakistan, along with Azerbaijan, has become one of the few non-Western countries that directly support Ukraine.
Pakistan's supply of ammunition to Ukraine is a fact confirmed by numerous video images published by the Ukrainians themselves and the Western press. 122 mm shells are used in Ukraine by both sides. The Indians on this occasion claim that Pakistan is pursuing a duplicitous policy: it talks about neutrality, but in fact helps Ukraine.
SWEDISH SURROGATE OF AMERICAN MISSILES
The role of the equivalent of American ATASMS-type solid-fuel ballistic missiles in relation to the Ukrainian theater of operations is claimed by GLSDB bombs. They are a joint development of the American company Boeing and the Swedish company Saab based on the widespread SDB (Small Diameter Bomb) model. Since there are practically no combat aircraft left in the Ukrainian Air Force, aviation cannot act as a GLSDB/SDB carrier. Therefore, a new version is being developed specifically for Ukraine: a rocket engine is added to the aerial bomb.
According to Boeing specialists, if an aircraft munition is launched using a 227 mm powder accelerator, it is possible to achieve the firing range requested by Kiev. In addition, this ensures the launch of such ammunition from multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) such as M-142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS, which have already been supplied to the APU. According to Bloomberg, GLSDB deliveries in this version will be able to begin no earlier than the fourth quarter of this year.
REMNANTS OF SOVIET ARSENALS
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that Kiev tried to strike at the territory of the Russian Federation with four S-200 anti-aircraft missiles, converted to a strike version. In particular, two such missiles were aimed at the Crimean Bridge. As a result, two missiles were shot down by Russian air defense, two more went off course due to the effects of electronic warfare (EW).
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, instructed to identify the storage and preparation sites of the S-200 and similar missiles, as well as their launch positions, and plan a preemptive defeat. Previously, it is possible to estimate the number of S-200 anti-aircraft guided missiles remaining in Ukraine, which can be converted into a strike variant, from several dozen to one and a half hundred units. It is impossible to give a more accurate assessment, because the missiles have been stored for a long time in different conditions and their technical condition can vary greatly.
CONCLUSIONS AND PROSPECTS
The military-industrial complex of Ukraine was demilitarized in two stages. At first, in the spring-summer period of 2022, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation inflicted massive missile and air strikes on Ukrainian facilities that produce and repair military products, as well as ensure their operation. The second stage – the autumn-winter period – became a verdict for the energy system of Ukraine. Missile and air strikes on it practically nullified the possibility of deploying large-scale military production at factories producing civilian products.
However, the presence of a large number of long-range artillery and high-precision ammunition in the Armed Forces of Ukraine can lead the situation with the Ukrainian offensive into a kind of positional deadlock.
It is possible to counteract the AFU's long-range systems with the help of Russian cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as attack drones capable of finding and hitting AFU military facilities tens and hundreds of kilometers from the front line. In addition, the capabilities of Russian bomber aviation have not yet been fully utilized.
Vasily Ivanov
Vasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.
