US considers handing over HAWK air defense systems to Ukraine
To protect Ukrainian skies from attacks by russian drones and cruise missiles, the United States is currently considering transferring old HAWK air defense equipment to Ukraine.
Reuters reported this, citing two US officials.
To transfer the equipment to Ukraine, the Biden administration will use PDA or Presidential Drawdown Authority, the publication noted. The drawdown authority allows Washington to quickly transfer defense from stockpiles without congressional approval in response to an emergency.
Journalists could not find out how many Hawk systems and missiles the United States could transfer to Ukraine. It is noted that the White House refused to comment.
Above all, the United States will first send interceptor missiles for the Hawk system to Ukraine since it is still unclear whether enough American launchers are in good condition.
American systems have been in storage for decades. The HAWK equipment is based on Vietnam-era technology but has been modernized several times.
US officials say they will announce a new aid package at the end of this week.
Since the start of russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the United States has sent Kyiv security assistance worth about $17.6 billion.
US President Joe Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington would provide Ukraine with advanced air systems. The US leader made this promise after the devastating missile attack by russia at the beginning of this month.
Also, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on October 13 that Spain would transfer 4 Hawk systems to Ukraine.
In terms of the time they were put into service, the Spanish complexes are similar to the Strela-10 complexes. These short-range systems are in service with the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Spain modernized the systems according to NATO standards.
Reference
MIM-23 Hawk is a US military medium-range anti-aircraft missile system.
The target destruction range is 45-50 kilometers. The target height is 20 kilometers, and the missile speed is Mach 2.4. The missile is guided to the target by a semi-active homing head.
