U.S. dials up shipments of radar-hunting missiles for Ukraine
“Ukraine is fighting for its life,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a news conference at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he announced the latest weapons transfer at a meeting of several countries supporting Ukraine’s war effort. “It’s fighting for its sovereign territory, and its democracy and its freedom. But the stakes reach far beyond the front lines. They affect us all.”
Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, first acknowledged in August that Ukrainian forces had been using the HARM missiles for weeks and “to great effect.”
The Pentagon, though, initially avoided identifying the missiles by name, with a senior defense official saying the Biden administration wanted to be careful about describing weapons that could provide Ukraine with a “significant asymmetric and unexpected advantage.” That changed once U.S. officials saw how “successfully” the missiles integrated with Ukrainian aircraft, prompting additional transfers, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the Defense Department.
Observers of the war had identified the missiles, and remnants of them, in imagery recorded on the battlefield. On Aug. 30, the Ukrainian air force also posted a video of what appeared to be a HARM being fired from one of its MiG-29 fighter jets.
The United States has used HARM missiles since the 1980s, deploying them to hunt radar sites in Iraq and Yugoslavia, according to photographs released by the Pentagon. U.S. pilots launch them from F-16s and F/A-18 fighters.
The missile has an antenna in its nose that searches for radar emissions, according to an Air Force fact sheet. Each missile is about 14 feet long and 800 pounds.
The administration’s decision to supply additional HARM missiles follows months of internal deliberation over whether the United States should provide Ukraine with more combat aircraft.
In March, Poland blindsided the United States by offering to give Ukraine its old warplanes if the administration pledged to provide Poland with more-advanced F-16s to replace them. Biden officials said Poland was free to offer its jets to Ukraine, but that it made no sense for the United States to be involved in a three-country agreement.
In April, the Pentagon disclosed that the United States and other countries had sought spare airplane parts to assist the Ukrainian air force, helping them put an additional 20 jets in the air.
In July, the U.S. Air Force’s top officer, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., said that the United States and its allies were discussing whether it makes sense to reinforce Ukraine’s air force with planes from the West. He raised the possibility of sending F-16s, the French Rafale, the Swedish Gripen or some other jet.
Some U.S. lawmakers also have suggested that the United States should send aircraft from its aging fleet of A-10s, attack planes that had a prominent role in protecting ground troops in earlier conflicts but are seen as vulnerable to newer planes and air defenses. Ukrainian officials have indicated they are more interested in multirole aircraft, such as the F-15, F-16 or F/A-18.
Since Russia’s invasion, the United States has provided more than $14 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, U.S. officials said. Austin said Thursday that the meeting in Germany highlighted a shift in which allies are discussing more how to support Ukraine “over the long haul.”