The Pentagon will buy AMRAAM missiles for Ukraine for $192 million
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The US Department of Defense announced the conclusion of a contract with Raytheon Missiles and Defense for the supply of medium-range air-to-air missiles AMRAAM for $ 192 million, reported on the website of the military department.
The report did not specify who the missiles were intended for, but noted that more than $7.6 million will be allocated to pay for the contract under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative for fiscal year 2023, which ends in the United States in September. The contract must be completed by the end of November next year.
How writes portal Defense One, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive a new version of an improved missile in three to five years. Now Ukraine uses the old versions of this missile used by NASAMS air defense systems. Raytheon completed testing of the new AIM-120C-8 variant in June by firing a missile from an F-15C Eagle aircraft. Raytheon plans to double the production of AMRAAM missiles, noting that its new version is “very different both in hardware and software” from the current one.
Raytheon was awarded a $1.15 billion contract in June to produce the next batch of AIM-120 missiles for US allies and partners, including Ukraine.
After the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, Western countries imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia and began to provide military assistance to Ukraine. The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of military equipment and weapons to Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia.
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