Atacms, all about the long-range missiles that Zelensky urges Biden
On the occasion of the meeting between US President Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky in Washington, the White House made official a new military aid package of 325 million dollars. The supply of the army's tactical missile system, known as Atacms, has not yet been approved
No green light from Biden to supply Atacms missiles to Kiev.
“Ukraine is working to agree on the supply of Atacms ballistic missiles” said Zelensky during his visit to Washington, reported by his press office. The Ukrainian leader stressed that during the meetings he held in the United States "my voice was heard". ”
Kiev has long asked its American allies for Atacms missiles, which have a range of 300 km. As early as the fall of 2022, Ukrainian officials were pushing for the delivery of the army's tactical missile systems. So far the United States has not provided Ukraine with the tactical rocket fearing an escalation. With these missiles, the Ukrainians would theoretically have the ability to hit major Russian urban centers and military bases.
“We have been working on this problem for a long time and with a lot of strength. And everything will end as it happened with the F-16 fighters,” concluded Zelensky.
All the details.
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS EVALUATING KIEV'S REQUEST
The Kiev authorities have long asked the United States to send the Atacms. Last week the Wall Street Journal revealed the United States was considering delivery of the long-range missile system to Ukraine . The Biden administration, in any case, has yet to approve a possible transfer.
At the moment the US administration has not approved the supply of Atacms missiles to Ukraine, in the context of the war with Russia. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said this during a press briefing on September 21st. “This hypothesis is still on the table: in any case, we are working to give Kiev everything it needs,” he specified.
Sullivan explained that the new military aid package will serve primarily to strengthen visiting Ukraine's air defenses "in what promises to be a difficult winter, marked by renewed Russian attacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure to try to deprive innocent people of necessities such as heating and electricity.”
NO ATACMS MISSILE PRODUCED BY LOCKHEED MARTIN
Atacms is a long-range guided missile that gives operational commanders the immediate firepower to win the deep battle, manufacturer Lockheed Martin explains on its site . Each Atacms missile is packaged in a MLRS-like launch pod and is fired from the MLRS family of launchers.
The missile was developed in the 1980s to destroy high-value Soviet targets deep behind enemy lines, the New York Times explained last year.
Because Atacms is the U.S. Army's longest-range surface firearm, it is traditionally used in missions approved by three-star generals for the highest priority targets on a battlefield. Lower-ranking officers can fire guided rockets as needed in combat, the Times adds.
IN TWO VERSIONS
Today the Pentagon has two versions of the ATACMS in its inventory: the cluster weapon and one that carries a single explosive charge.
USED IN DESERT STORM
The United States has already used them in combat. The Times also recalled that the US military fired about 30 Atacms in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, according to government records. In that case, they hit Iraq's medium-range ballistic missile launchers and surface-to-air missile sites.
THE CONSEQUENCES
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the company has built 60,000 GMLRS and 4,000 Atacms to date, some of which have been sold to foreign allies.
The new rockets would allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Crimea to target Russian Iranian drone launch points, which it currently cannot do.
As the New York Times pointed out a year ago, the White House fears that Ukraine could use the long-range missile to strike targets deep inside Russia. There is also concern within the Biden administration that supplying the long-range ATACMS weapons would cross a red line in Moscow's eyes, which would see the US become "a direct party to the conflict".
The Kremlin has long warned that the supply of long-range missiles would constitute a red line, although the United States and its allies have already supplied other weapons deemed "red line" by Moscow without provoking a serious escalation on Russia's part, the Kremlin recalled. last week Axios .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/atacms-tutto-sui-missili-a-lungo-raggio-che-zelensky-sollecita-a-biden/ on Sun, 24 Sep 2023 06:00:32 +0000.