US mulls sending older air defence equipment to Ukraine

Washington — The US is considering sending older HAWK air defence equipment from storage to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian drone and cruise missile attacks, two US officials said.

The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile systems — a smaller, shorter range air defence system — that the US has already sent to blunt Russia’s invasion.

The Biden administration would use the presidential drawdown authority to transfer the HAWK equipment which is based on Vietnam-era technology, but has been upgraded several times. That allows the US to transfer defence articles and services from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency.

Reuters was unable to determine how many HAWK systems and missiles the US has available to transfer. The White House declined to comment.

The HAWK system is the predecessor to the Patriot missile defence system made by Raytheon Technologies which remains off the table for Ukraine, US officials told Reuters.

US President Joe Biden pledged to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington would provide Ukraine with advanced air systems after a devastating missile barrage from Russia earlier this month.

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has said that Spain intends to send four HAWK launchers.

The US was likely to initially send interceptor missiles for the HAWK system to Ukraine because it was unclear if enough US launchers were in good repair, one US official said. The US systems have been in storage for decades.

A presidential drawdown authority is being considered for later this week, US officials said. One said it was likely to be about half the size of the recent security assistance packages which have been about $700m.

It was not immediately clear if HAWK interceptor missiles would be included, but US officials have previously cautioned that size and composition of military aid packages can change rapidly.

Since the February 24 Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, the US has sent about $17.6bn worth of security assistance to Kyiv.

Reuters