As entrenched warfare rages in Ukraine, the Biden Administration is holding to their vow to not provide Kyiv with long range missiles, even as Ukraine has asked for hundreds of tactical missiles.
In late May, President Biden appeared to have changed his view on long range missiles, called the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, believing that they would go the same way as other U.S. weapons that were initially denied but soon approved during the first 17 months of the war. The Pentagon believes that Ukraine has greater needs than a long-range missile system, and that giving missiles to Ukraine would decrease the United States’ own readiness for conflict.
The ATACMS has a range of 190 miles, and could be essential for Ukraine’s ability to destroy command posts and logistics areas behind the front lines. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, said in a July 7 interview that “without long-range weapons, it is difficult not only to carry out an offensive mission but also to conduct a defensive operation.” With the ATACMS, Ukrainian forces can target the farthest areas of Crimea, an area under Russian occupation, which includes the Kerch Bridge and the Russian naval base, situated in Sevastopol.
ATACMS in American hands are waiting for replacement from a new generation of missiles, called the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM (pronounced “prism”). The ATACMS is expected to retire when PrSM enters service at the end of the year. Lockheed Martin, the manufacturers of the ATACMS, will still produce about 500 missiles a year, but all of them are meant for sale to other countries.
As long as the ATACMS is in service, Ukraine will most likely not receive any long-range missiles from the United States, but that may change when the United States upgrades its own missile stockpile.
In late May, President Biden appeared to have changed his view on long range missiles, called the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, believing that they would go the same way as other U.S. weapons that were initially denied but soon approved during the first 17 months of the war. The Pentagon believes that Ukraine has greater needs than a long-range missile system, and that giving missiles to Ukraine would decrease the United States’ own readiness for conflict.
The ATACMS has a range of 190 miles, and could be essential for Ukraine’s ability to destroy command posts and logistics areas behind the front lines. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, said in a July 7 interview that “without long-range weapons, it is difficult not only to carry out an offensive mission but also to conduct a defensive operation.” With the ATACMS, Ukrainian forces can target the farthest areas of Crimea, an area under Russian occupation, which includes the Kerch Bridge and the Russian naval base, situated in Sevastopol.
ATACMS in American hands are waiting for replacement from a new generation of missiles, called the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM (pronounced “prism”). The ATACMS is expected to retire when PrSM enters service at the end of the year. Lockheed Martin, the manufacturers of the ATACMS, will still produce about 500 missiles a year, but all of them are meant for sale to other countries.
As long as the ATACMS is in service, Ukraine will most likely not receive any long-range missiles from the United States, but that may change when the United States upgrades its own missile stockpile.