US secretly provides long-range missile ATACMS to Ukraine, initially refused – CNN.co.jp

Long-range missile ATACMS test-fired on December 14, 2021, New Mexico/John Hamilton/US Army

2024.04.25 Thu posted at 15:59 JST

(CNN) The U.S. Department of Defense announced on the 24th that it provided Ukraine with long-range missiles ATACMS this month at the direction of President Biden. The Biden administration initially refused to provide ATACMS.

In February, Biden quietly approved the provision of ATACMS missiles for use inside Ukrainian territory. According to a Pentagon spokesperson, the ATACMS missiles were then privately included in a $300 million aid package announced on March 12, and were finally delivered to Ukraine this month. It is said that it was given to

“In order to respond to Ukraine’s request and maintain operational security, we did not announce at that time that we would provide Ukraine with this new weapon,” the spokesperson said. He sidestepped a question about the usefulness of ATACMS for the Ukrainian military.

The Biden administration had refused to provide long-range missiles, partly due to concerns about readiness. Producing a powerful ATACMS requires time and complex components. A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin, which manufactures ATACMS missiles, said in September last year that production was proceeding at full pace and that the company was planning to build about 500 missiles a year.

The United States has addressed readiness concerns behind the scenes by increasing the amount of ATACMS it purchases and replenishing its military inventory. “As a result, we were able to proceed with this ATACMS delivery while maintaining the current readiness of our military.”