The US has developed air defense systems that combine Western weapons with Soviet components still used in Ukraine.
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The New York Times wrote about this on October 29. The publication quotes Deputy Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Policy Laura Cooper.
We are talking about Soviet Buk launchers, which are adapted to use American Sea Sparrow missiles, and Soviet radars, which will be used with American Sidewinder missiles. The Cold War-era Hawk missile system has also been adapted – this week it was used for the first time on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Hybrid air defense systems have been tested at military bases in the United States over the past few months and are due to be delivered to Ukraine this fall, American officials said.
Cooper said these hybrid air defense systems, also known as FrankenSAM, “help fill critical gaps in Ukraine’s air defense system, which is the most important challenge facing Ukraine today.”
Over the past 20 months, the West has supplied Ukraine with a range of air defense systems, including advanced Patriot and IRIS-T systems, tanks equipped with anti-aircraft guns and more than 2,000 Stinger missiles.
Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his government would supply Ukraine with three more air defense systems, including one Patriot, as part of a so-called winter package worth $1.5 billion.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden’s administration announced another $150 million military aid package for Ukraine, including additional ammunition for three types of air defense systems, including Sidewinder missiles for one of the FrankenSAM air defense systems.
Last year, Ukrainian authorities asked allies to find reserves of missiles for about 60 Soviet Buk launchers and radars idling in Kyiv’s arsenal. Knowing that it would be difficult for the West to obtain Russian-made ammunition, Ukraine proposed converting these launchers into NATO-caliber anti-aircraft missiles transferred to the United States.
Kan Kasapoglu, a defense analyst at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, said this adaptation of Soviet weapons with more modern Western missiles is a good way to help Ukraine “preserve its arsenal for the long war ahead.”
According to Kasapoglu, this also “provides an opportunity to put into practice weapons that are gathering dust in the warehouses of NATO countries.”
Source: Racurs
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