U.S. to Provide HAWK Missiles for Ukraine’s Spain-Delivered Air Defense Systems

The U.S. Department of Defense said it will provide unspecified number of HAWK missiles for air defense systems Spain has committed to deliver to Ukraine.

With Russia's unrelenting and brutal air attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure, additional air defense capabilities are critical, the DoD said.

Capabilities in the $400 million military aid package announced by the DoD for Kyiv today includes missiles for HAWK air defense systems; four Avenger air defense systems, and Stinger missiles; additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 21,000 155mm artillery rounds; 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds; 10,000 120mm mortar rounds; 100 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs); 400 grenade launchers; Small arms, optics, and more than 20,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition; demolition equipment for obstacle clearing; and cold weather protective gear.

As part of this drawdown, the U.S. will provide Ukraine with HAWK missiles from its own inventory, but that those missiles would first need to be refurbished. That refurbishment will be done using funds from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). Once those missiles are refurbished, they will then be paired with HAWK system launchers that have been provided by Spain.

The Avenger short-range air defense systems, which use Stinger missiles, is a capability the U.S. has not previously provided to the Ukrainians.

"These are mobile, short-range air defense systems that can ... protect against cruise missiles, helicopters [and] unmanned aerial systems,"  Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh during a briefing today. "They're shorter in range, but with some of the additional capabilities that we and Spain and others have provided, like the HAWK missiles. This is something [that] I think fits in well with some of the capabilities that [the Ukrainians] are already using on the battlefield."

In total, the United States has committed more than $19.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $21.4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and more than $18.6 billion since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked and brutal invasion on February 24.