Above, the Osa (Wasp) is a short-range surface-to-air missile system. Its reporting name in the West is SA-8 or Gecko.
The U.S. is sending some
of the Soviet-made air defense equipment it secretly acquired decades ago to
bolster the Ukrainian military as it seeks to fend off Russian air and missile attacks, U.S.
officials said.
The systems, which one
U.S. official said include the SA-8, are decades old and were obtained by the
U.S. so it could examine the technology used by the Russian military and which Moscow has
exported around the world.
The
weapons are familiar to Ukraine’s military, which inherited this type of
equipment following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the U.S. decision to
reach into its little-known arsenal of Soviet weapons, which comes as the Biden
administration is mounting a major push to expand Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
The U.S. over the decades
has acquired a small number of Soviet missile defense systems so that they
could be examined by U.S. intelligence experts and help with training American
forces.
The secretive efforts received public attention in 1994 when a
Soviet-made transport plane was observed at the Huntsville, Ala., airport
within sight of a major highway. It was later disclosed that the plane was
carrying an S-300 air defense system that the U.S. had acquired in Belarus as
part of a clandestine project involving a Pentagon contractor that cost $100
million, according to a former official involved in the mission.
SA-10 (Grumble) / S-300
Long-Range Anti-Aircraft Mobile Defense System [1978]
The S-300—called the SA-10 by NATO—is a long-range, advanced air defense system intended to protect large areas over a much wider radius. The SA-8 is a short-range, tactical air defense system designed to move with ground forces and provide cover from aircraft and helicopters. While the SA-8 has a shorter range, it is highly mobile and potentially easier to hide.
Some of the Soviet-style weapons have been kept at
the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, which its website notes serves as “the Army’s
center for missile and rocket programs.” At least some of what the U.S. sent
was from that base, said officials, who added that C-17s recently flew to a
nearby airfield at Huntsville.
The S-300 from Belarus wasn’t among the systems that are being
sent to Ukraine, one U.S. official said.
The annual government spending bill recently passed by Congress
and signed into law by President Biden includes language that authorizes the
administration to transfer to the Ukrainian military and to North Atlantic
Treaty Organization partners aircraft, ammunition, vehicles, and other
equipment that is either already overseas or in existing stockpiles.
Staffers with Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), who advocated for the
language, said Soviet-era air defense systems would be covered by the new
legislation. Congress was notified about the U.S. decision, officials said.
Ukraine already
possesses some Russian air defense systems, including the S-300. It needs more
such systems, however, that can operate at medium and long range to blunt
Russia’s aircraft and missile attacks. The shoulder-fired Stinger missiles, pictured below, that the U.S. and NATO
nations are providing to Ukraine are only effective against helicopters and
low-flying aircraft.
The U.S. is hoping that
the provision of additional air defenses will enable Ukraine to create a de
facto no-fly zone, since the U.S. and its NATO
allies have rebuffed Ukraine’s appeals that the alliance establish one.
Such a step, Biden administration officials have said, could lead to a direct
confrontation between the U.S.-led alliance and Russian forces, which it is
determined to avoid.
Mr. Biden is traveling to Brussels this week for a NATO summit
to discuss “ongoing deterrence and defense efforts” for Ukraine, White House
spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State
Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also have visited the eastern
bloc to discuss ways to bolster Ukraine’s defensive weapons.
“We are continuing to work with our allies and key partners to
surge new assistance, including Soviet- or Russian-origin antiaircraft systems
and the necessary ammunition to employ them, every day to Ukraine,” a U.S.
official said.
Mr. Austin last week visited Slovakia to explore if the country
would send an S-300 from its arsenal. Slovakia has said that it would do so if
the U.S. would provide it with a replacement, but such an arrangement has yet to
be agreed.
American-made weapons such as the Patriot air defense system are
in short supply and require American military personnel or months of U.S.
training to operate. German and Dutch Patriot units are being sent to Slovakia
as a stopgap, those governments have said.
“We’ve been in discussion” with the U.S., Slovakia Minister of
Defense Jaroslav Nad’ told reporters during a joint press conference with Mr.
Austin on Thursday. “Should there be a situation that we have a proper
replacement or that we have a capability guaranteed for a certain period of
time, then we would be willing to discuss the future of [the] S-300 system.”
No comments:
Post a Comment