{"id":55002,"date":"2022-06-01T19:04:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T19:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/06\/01\/us-will-send-himars-precision-rockets-to-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:03:14","slug":"us-will-send-himars-precision-rockets-to-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2022\/06\/01\/us-will-send-himars-precision-rockets-to-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"US will send HIMARS precision rockets to Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON \u2015 The Biden administration will send Ukraine<\/a> $700 million in new military aid including high-tech, medium-range rocket systems that Ukrainian leaders have been pleading for as they struggle to stall Russian advances in the Donbas region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aid includes four of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS<\/a>, a light wheeled multiple rocket launcher, from U.S. military stocks. It\u2019s aimed at helping Ukrainian forces take out positions from which Russian forced launch brutal artillery barrages in what\u2019s become a tough fight for Eastern Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HIMARS, Ukraine\u2019s \u201ctop priority\u201d request from the U.S., would provide that country\u2019s forces with greater range and precision than artillery previously sent, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters at a Pentagon Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re not we\u2019re not seeing the Ukrainian defenses buckle, they\u2019re hanging on,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it is a grinding fight, and we believe that these additional capabilities will arrive in a timeframe that\u2019s relevant and allow the Ukrainians to very precisely target the types of things they need for the current fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to avoid an escalation in the war, the White House obtained a formal commitment from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use the system only for defensive purposes and avoid firing missiles into Russian territory, according to Kahl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have an interest in the conflict in Ukraine widening to a broader conflict or evolving into World War III, so we\u2019ve been mindful of that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at the same time, Russia doesn\u2019t get a veto over what we send to the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians didn\u2019t start this war, the Russians did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While any weapon can shoot into Russia if it\u2019s close enough to the border, the aid package would send an undisclosed number of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rounds, which have a range of 70 kilometers (43 miles), instead of the Army Tactical Missile System projectile, which has a 300 km range .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon prepositioned HIMARS in Europe in anticipation of the announcement and plans to conduct three-week trainings for Ukrainian forces on their operation and maintenance. Kahl said the U.S. will be able to send more systems as the fighting evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\t