For US$105 million, the U.S. authorizes the sale of another support package for the Patriot air-defense systems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The government of the United States has authorized the sale of a new support package intended for the Patriot systems that are in possession of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this being an operation that would require an estimated investment of about 105 million dollars, with the main objective of ensuring the proper functioning of what are one of the main elements of their air-defense network. This was communicated by the Department of State to the U.S. Congress over the course of yesterday, through the usual publicly accessible notice.

Reviewing the details of the package covered by this operation, we can mention that the government of Ukraine requested the purchase of various maintenance items and associated services for the Patriot system, including the upgrade of the M901 launchers to the M903 configuration. In addition to this, Kyiv is seeking to receive training for its personnel in tasks associated with logistics and system repair, as well as a package of spare parts and auxiliary items.

In the view of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA): “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that contributes to political stability and economic progress in Europe. The proposed sale will enhance Ukraine’s ability to address current and future threats, by further equipping it to carry out self-defense and regional security missions with a stronger local sustainment capability. Ukraine will have no difficulty integrating these items and services into its armed forces.”

In a later section of the official notice, the DSCA indicated that the operation will have two main contractors to carry it out, namely: RTX Corporation through its Arlington (Virginia) headquarters, and Lockheed Martin with its Bethesda (Maryland) headquarters. On the other hand, it was noted that the U.S. government does not foresee negotiating any additional offset agreement, although the deployment of additional representatives to the European Combat Command is planned in order to finalize the sale. We are talking about five additional representatives of the United States government and fifteen representatives of the aforementioned contractors, who will remain there for a maximum period of one month.

Finally, it is useful to recall that this new support package is approved weeks after a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, in which the potential transfer of up to 25 additional Patriot systems to reinforce Kyiv’s air defense in the face of the intensification of Russian air attacks ahead of the European winter was discussed. Moreover, the package arrives to complement the one authorized by Washington during the month of September at a cost of about 179.1 million dollars, which also sought to ensure the operability of the Ukrainian Patriot batteries.

*Images used for illustrative purposes

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