Source: Financial Associated Press
Financial Union News Agency, August 29 (Editor, Huang Junzhi)The U.S. Department of Defense said on Thursday that the U.S. State Department approved the sale of airborne ammunition and related equipment to Ukraine to enhance its defense capabilities, estimated at a total value of $8.25 billion.
The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that it had notified Congress to sell Extended Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) missiles and navigation systems to Ukraine.The arms sales will include 3350 ERAM missiles, 3350 GPS devices, as well as components, spare parts and other accessories, as well as training and technical support.
It is understood that ERAM is a low-cost airborne missile with a range of approximately 240-450 kilometers, a type of defense space precision strike ammunition. ERAM can hit land and sea targets, and its modular design allows it to adapt to different tasks. However, due to its maximum range of close to 500 kilometers, several U.S. officials noted that the use of the missile may require Pentagon approval.
The announcement came after President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky this month. If the deal goes through as expected, the missiles could be delivered later this year, a person familiar with the matter said.
The US State Department said in a statement, “Ukraine will use funds from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway, as well as foreign military financing from the United States, for the procurement.ERAM is an example of how we work with NATO allies to develop high-performance, scalable and fast-delivery systems.”
"This proposed arms sale would support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe," the statement said.
It is unclear whether there will be restrictions on its use.However, it is worth mentioning that there are reports that the U.S. Department of Defense has been preventing Ukraine from using long-range missiles to attack targets in Russia for several months.
The report cited several anonymous U.S. government officials as saying that since the end of this spring, a high-level approval procedure by the U.S. Department of Defense has prevented Ukraine from using the U.S. Army’s tactical missile system (ATACMS) to hit Russian-based targets.
Deputy Defense Secretary Elbridge Colby, in charge of the U.S. Department of Defense’s policy, was in charge of drawing up the unpublished approval procedure, and Secretary of Defense Hergezes has the final decision. Based on the relevant review, the Department of Defense will decide whether to support Ukraine’s launch of long-range weapons against Russia. In addition to U.S.-made long-range missiles, the scope of the review also includes European-Ukrainian weapons that rely on U.S. intelligence and components.
In addition to the latest arms sales plan mentioned above, in July this year, the United States also announced two other plans to sell arms to Ukraine. One is worth $322 million to enhance its air defense capabilities and provide armored combat vehicles, and another is worth $330 million for maintenance, repair and overhaul of air defense systems as well as self-propelled artillery vehicles.
For now, U.S. efforts to mediate between Ukraine and Russia seem to have stalled. On the 18th of this month, Trump said that he had begun to arrange the "Puze Conference", followed by a meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and Uzbekistan. However, last weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in an interview that there are currently no plans for a meeting.