The United States is considering sending older HAWK air defense equipment from storage to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian drone and cruise missile attacks, two US officials told Reuters.
The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile systems – a smaller, shorter-range air defense system – that the US has already deployed to blunt Russia’s invasion.
The Biden administration would use the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to transfer the HAWK equipment, which is based on Vietnam-era technology but has been upgraded several times. The PDA allows the United States to quickly transfer defense items and services from stockpiles without congressional approval in response to an emergency.
Reuters was unable to determine how many HAWK systems and missiles the US has available to transfer. The White House declined to comment.
The HAWK system is the predecessor to the PATRIOT missile defense system made by Raytheon Technologies, which remains off the table for Ukraine, US officials have told Reuters.
US President Joe Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Washington would provide Ukraine with advanced air systems after a devastating missile barrage by Russia earlier this month.
The US is pushing allies to hastily build a patchwork air defense network for Ukraine using NATO-compatible equipment – some ultra-modern, some older – to protect strategic targets from Russian attacks.
Washington has promised to supply Ukraine with NASAMS short-to-medium-range medium-altitude air defense system, with the first two having already arrived.
Germany has delivered the first of the latest generation of Iris-T defense systems, but Kyiv will have to wait until next year for three others that have been promised. The mid-range, high-altitude Iris-T system is designed to protect a small city.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Spain intends to send four HAWK missiles.
The United States was likely to initially send interceptor missiles for the HAWK system to Ukraine because it was unclear whether enough American launchers were in good working order, a US official told Reuters. The US systems have been in storage for decades.
A PDA is being considered later this week, US officials have said. A US official said it would likely be about half the size of recent security assistance packages, which have been around $700 million.
It was not immediately clear whether HAWK interceptor missiles would be included, but US officials have previously warned that the size and composition of military aid packages could change quickly.
Since the February 24 Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation,” the United States has sent about $17.6 billion worth of security assistance to Kiev.
(With additional reporting from agencies)
