The Ukrainian Air Drive chief shared the primary public video of the US-made HAWK air protection system in motion in Ukraine on Monday. Within the video, the system’s MIM-23 surface-to-air missiles streak throughout the evening sky earlier than culminating in fiery explosions, apparently over the Black Sea. “Western weapons have confirmed and proceed to show their effectiveness on the battlefield!” exclaimed the commander.
As they put together to defend their cities towards Russian missile and drone assaults this winter, Ukrainian forces lack air defenses. Whereas Western international locations have few trendy air protection programs left, further HAWKs are on the way in which – and Kiev is hoping for extra.
Starting in October 2022, Russia launched a strategic air marketing campaign focusing on Ukraine’s vital infrastructure, notably its energy grid. Missiles and Iranian-supplied Shahed drones bombarded Ukrainian cities as Moscow tried to freeze the nation into submission. Ukraine in the end resisted the assault, but it surely was a detailed affair.
Now Ukrainian officers concern Russia is making ready for an additional strike marketing campaign this winter. Moscow is stockpiling missiles, they warn, whereas Russian trade has ramped up manufacturing of key munitions such because the Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile. With Iran’s assist, Russia has additionally begun producing Shahed drones itself in an try and broaden its provide. Ukraine, in the meantime, heads into winter with its energy grid nonetheless a bit hamstrung from final 12 months.
Ukraine lacks sufficient air protection to guard its whole huge territory. The capital is properly defended, however different cities much less so. Furthermore, as a result of an absence of air protection, Kiev faces a dilemma between screening forces close to the entrance line and protecting areas within the rear. The Ukrainians could must withdraw extra programs to defend cities this winter, giving Russian plane extra latitude close to the entrance line.
To make issues worse, Ukraine is operating out of interceptor missiles for its Soviet-made air protection programs. In some circumstances, efforts to combine these programs with Western interceptors have met with success and may come on-line quickly, though Russia has already destroyed a good portion of Kiev’s Soviet-made launchers and radars.
The US and its allies have helped fill the hole by donating quite a few Western-made air protection programs, which have usually labored properly. However Western international locations haven’t got many trendy programs left to provide, and manufacturing cannot transfer quick sufficient to satisfy Ukraine’s fast wants.
This shortage has pressured the West to mud off an older system – HAWK. Brief for “Homing All of the Manner Killer,” HAWK is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system. It first entered service with the US army in 1960. The US and varied different international locations later launched upgraded variations, together with the improved HAWK (or I-HAWK) Part III, which the US army retired over twenty years in the past. Some international locations later launched a extra superior model, the Hawk XXI. This mannequin incorporates, amongst different issues, the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar, which Ukraine has already obtained from the US.
Whereas HAWK will not be pretty much as good as trendy programs, it’s higher than nothing. “We is not going to say no to any weapons,” the pinnacle of the Kyiv Metropolis Navy Administration careworn on Monday, noting that Russia had fired over 700 missiles and Shahed drones on the Ukrainian capital over the previous 12 months. Actually, Ukrainian air protection specialists reward the Hawk and need extra, particularly the Part III model.
The issue is discovering donors who’re each keen to half with their HAWKs and saved them in respectable situation. Again in October 2022, when the Biden administration first thought of sending HAWK to Ukraine, a US official indicated that the US army’s HAWK programs had been in poor situation. The administration reportedly encountered an analogous downside when it requested Israel for its retired HAWKs, which have been in open-air depots for over a decade.
Washington ended up donating MIM-23 missiles along with six HAWK missiles that Spain had promised. (A typical HAWK battery consists of six launchers plus varied radars and hearth management tools.) Not less than among the missiles have required refurbishment earlier than supply. The US has renewed donated HAWK programs to Ukraine underneath its so-called “FrankenSAM” initiative, based on a senior Pentagon official.
Madrid reportedly possesses a number of completely different HAWK variants, together with Part III. Ukrainian troops apparently educated on that mannequin in Spain final winter. However based on Overseas coverage, the system arrived in Ukraine with out its radars. That would assist clarify the lengthy delay between the primary supply and Monday’s video.
In February, Sweden stated it could donate unspecified HAWK subsystems to Kiev. Which may be the place the radars got here from. It is usually potential that Ukraine, with Western assist, built-in its HAWK missiles with its AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radars to play the extra trendy XXI model.
After the preliminary pledges, Washington introduced that it could purchase further HAWK programs and missiles for Ukraine. In July, Taiwanese media reported that the US had agreed to purchase again programs lately retired by Taiwan that operated the Part III model.
Extra assist might be on the way in which quickly. Earlier this month, Madrid pledged one other six Hawk launchers. They are going to be built-in right into a US-supplied battery, Spain’s protection minister defined, which presumably means Washington will provide the opposite parts. In response to a US request, Spain may also provide coaching for Ukrainian operators and maintainers beginning subsequent month, she added. Kyiv is prone to ship troops that beforehand operated Soviet-made air protection programs, because it did for earlier HAWK coaching in Spain.
Along with the aforementioned international locations, no less than eight US allies and companions reportedly nonetheless function HAWK, based on The army stability 2023. Others have HAWKs in inventory. Particularly, Romania and Jordan are driving the section III model. Ukraine has already obtained other types of air protection programs from Jordanmost likely delivered not directly by way of the US or one other western nation.
HAWK could also be previous, however it’s making a distinction for Ukraine. As winter approaches, Kyiv little doubt hopes its Western backers can procure extra HAWKs — and shortly.
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