[Goose]

Have heard nothing new regarding the US aid package held up in Congress. This article from WSJ covers the latest funding news. Interesting tease that longer range ATACMS may soon be on the table, though apparently not yet.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-se...e-07402244

The Biden administration said it was sending $300 million more in ammunition and other weapons to Kyiv in a stopgap move to boost Ukraine’s forces while Congress debates a new aid package.

The Pentagon plans to transfer artillery rounds, rockets for Ukraine’s Himars launchers, antiaircraft missile and antitank weapons, using funds in the Army budget left over from weapons contracts for replacing arms sent to Kyiv, officials said.

The new assistance package also includes additional shorter-range ATACMS missiles, an administration official said. That version of the weapon has a range of about 100 miles and is armed with cluster munitions.

These are ATACMS missiles that the US was (in theory at least)  required by Congress to pay a contractor to destroy because the cluster munitions have "too high" a dud rate. Sending them to Ukraine to destroy actually saves us money (and kills Russians :-). This should actually free up MORE funds for Ukraine aid. These cluster munitions are ideal for obliterating massed infantry/motor rifle units. This is what they were originally designed to do. The "finger of God" should be applied repeatedly in Ukraine. We should save even more money and send all we have remaining in inventory :-). 

Ukraine has also been pushing the Pentagon to provide long-range ATACMS missiles, which have a range of more than 180 miles and could add to Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian forces in Crimea, U.S. officials said.

Pentagon officials had previously insisted the U.S. military needed to retain all of its longer-range ATACMS to meet its own military requirements. But the Pentagon is now open to providing the longer-range ATACMS because of progress in acquiring a follow-on system dubbed the Precision Strike Missile, U.S. officials say.

The "progress" in PrSM deliveries is not at all as described in the above. As https://executivegov.com/2023/12/army-re...-missiles/ points out the initial delivery of "PrSM, Increment 1 Early Operational Capability missiles" occurred on Dec 11, 2023. The Army is in no position to take this weapon to war anytime soon. The Army will do as ordered, but the idea they are suddenly fine with it is simply false. It may be that giving the missiles to Ukraine is now considered important enough that the Army's objections should be overridden. IMO this is the case, but let it be told like it is, not some fake narrative to make the public feel good.
https://defence-industry.eu/lockheed-sec...-missiles/ indicates that a contract for such missiles was let on 6 March 2024. The number of missiles to be delivered in the next 12 months will be 30-40. The number of M-48 missiles in US inventory is at most 118. The number of M57 missiles in US inventory is at most 513. While not reassuringly high numbers, the addition of < 50 PrSM this year doesn't move the meter.

That removes a major impediment to providing the long-range variant of the missile, though officials declined to say whether Biden will send the system. 

.....

A new $95.3 billion aid package focused on Ukraine and Israel passed the Democratic-run Senate last month, but hasn’t moved in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) has said he wouldn’t bring the funding bill to the floor in its current form.

Sucks. IMO simply insane.

[Goose]

Have heard nothing new regarding the US aid package held up in Congress. This article from WSJ covers the latest funding news. Interesting tease that longer range ATACMS may soon be on the table, though apparently not yet.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-se...e-07402244

The Biden administration said it was sending $300 million more in ammunition and other weapons to Kyiv in a stopgap move to boost Ukraine’s forces while Congress debates a new aid package.

The Pentagon plans to transfer artillery rounds, rockets for Ukraine’s Himars launchers, antiaircraft missile and antitank weapons, using funds in the Army budget left over from weapons contracts for replacing arms sent to Kyiv, officials said.

The new assistance package also includes additional shorter-range ATACMS missiles, an administration official said. That version of the weapon has a range of about 100 miles and is armed with cluster munitions.

These are ATACMS missiles that the US was (in theory at least)  required by Congress to pay a contractor to destroy because the cluster munitions have "too high" a dud rate. Sending them to Ukraine to destroy actually saves us money (and kills Russians :-). This should actually free up MORE funds for Ukraine aid. These cluster munitions are ideal for obliterating massed infantry/motor rifle units. This is what they were originally designed to do. The "finger of God" should be applied repeatedly in Ukraine. We should save even more money and send all we have remaining in inventory :-). 

Ukraine has also been pushing the Pentagon to provide long-range ATACMS missiles, which have a range of more than 180 miles and could add to Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian forces in Crimea, U.S. officials said.

Pentagon officials had previously insisted the U.S. military needed to retain all of its longer-range ATACMS to meet its own military requirements. But the Pentagon is now open to providing the longer-range ATACMS because of progress in acquiring a follow-on system dubbed the Precision Strike Missile, U.S. officials say.

The "progress" in PrSM deliveries is not at all as described in the above. As https://executivegov.com/2023/12/army-re...-missiles/ points out the initial delivery of "PrSM, Increment 1 Early Operational Capability missiles" occurred on Dec 11, 2023. The Army is in no position to take this weapon to war anytime soon. The Army will do as ordered, but the idea they are suddenly fine with it is simply false. It may be that giving the missiles to Ukraine is now considered important enough that the Army's objections should be overridden. IMO this is the case, but let it be told like it is, not some fake narrative to make the public feel good.
https://defence-industry.eu/lockheed-sec...-missiles/ indicates that a contract for such missiles was let on 6 March 2024. The number of missiles to be delivered in the next 12 months will be 30-40. The number of M-48 missiles in US inventory is at most 118. The number of M57 missiles in US inventory is at most 513. While not reassuringly high numbers, the addition of < 50 PrSM this year doesn't move the meter.

That removes a major impediment to providing the long-range variant of the missile, though officials declined to say whether Biden will send the system. 

.....

A new $95.3 billion aid package focused on Ukraine and Israel passed the Democratic-run Senate last month, but hasn’t moved in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) has said he wouldn’t bring the funding bill to the floor in its current form.

Sucks. IMO simply insane.