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The US can deliver NASAMS rockets from the Middle East to Ukraine
The US can deliver NASAMS rockets from the Middle East to Ukraine
Raytheon Group CEO said that the US is convincing some Middle Eastern countries to transfer their NASAMS systems to Ukraine to speed up aid.
“There are many NASAMS systems being deployed throughout the Middle East. The US and its allies in NATO are working with several Middle Eastern countries to persuade them to transfer NASAMS systems in service to Ukraine,” Greg Hayes, CEO of US defense corporation Raytheon, said in an interview on December 1.
Hayes said that moving NASAMS air defense systems from the Middle East to Ukraine would be much faster than new production in the US, which could help Kiev receive these complexes in the next 3-6 months. The US will then build new complexes to compensate Middle Eastern customers for two years.
“Building the new NASAMS system can take up to 24 months, because of the need to buy rocket engines and electronics from other contractors,” CEO Raytheon said.
The Pentagon has not commented on the information. The administration of US President Joe Biden will have to ratify a deal to transfer NASAMS rockets from the Middle East to Ukraine.
Raytheon Corporation declined to say which Middle Eastern countries could provide NASAMS to Ukraine. Countries that own this system in the region include Oman and Qatar, but the number in staff is unknown.
Training personnel is also a challenge when transferring modern weapons to Ukraine. The Norwegian military has trained 60 Ukrainian servicemen to operate the first two NASAMS complexes delivered by the US. “The training phase usually lasts six months, but Ukrainian soldiers are trained for 60 days. Raytheon has logistics facilities in the area to provide technical support after the batteries are deployed,” Mr. Hayes said. good.
The Pentagon announced on November 30 that the US Army had awarded a $1.2 billion contract to defense corporation Raytheon for the supply of six NASAMS medium-range air defense missile systems, along with training and support. logistics, for the Ukrainian army.
Six NASAMS systems are part of the fifth aid package, totaling $2.98 billion under the Security Assistance Initiative for Ukraine (USAI). The USAI fund, set up by the US congress, allows the purchase of weapons from defense corporations, instead of withdrawing from US warehouses and sending them to Ukraine.
The US committed to deliver a total of eight NASAMS systems to Ukraine, the first two of which were delivered in early November. The appearance of NASAMS could help Ukraine better cope with air attacks by missiles and machines. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially when the country’s old air defense systems face many difficulties in their efforts to intercept Russian attacks.
However, some Russian experts believe that the small number of Western medium-range air defense systems is not enough to help Ukraine create a large defensive umbrella, which has the effect of turning the battlefield. AMRAAM missiles equipped on NASAMS cost more than a million USD/fruit, not suitable for intercepting cheap targets like UAVs, making this complex may have difficulty in front of massive attacks by cruise missiles and UAVs. .
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