The Biden administration on Friday announced a new $2.2 billion arms package for Ukraine that includes longer-range rockets, marking the latest US escalation, although they won’t be delivered until much later this year.
The Boeing-made Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) can hit targets up to 94 miles away, nearly twice the range of the munitions Ukraine is currently using with the US-provided HIMARS rocket systems.
“This gives them a longer-range capability — long-range fires capability that will enable them, again, to conduct operations in defense of their country and to take back their sovereign territory in Russian-occupied areas,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
The announcement comes after a series of other US escalations, including pledges to provide M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Each step brings the US and Russia closer to a direct conflict.
The US is providing the GLSDBs through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which allows the US to purchase arms for Ukraine. Weapons provided under the USAI could take months or years to deliver as they involve contracts and might need to be manufactured.
The GLSDB is made up of a precision-guided bomb and an M26 rocket motor. Boeing has been pushing the US to provide Ukraine with the GLSDB since the M26 rocket motors are widely available in US military stockpiles. According to POLITICO, the US military currently doesn’t have a ground-launched version of the bomb in its stocks, and it could take nine months for the necessary retrofits.
The new massive $2.2 billion weapons package is broken down into $1.75 billion in USAI funds and $425 million for the presidential drawdown authority, which allows the US to send arms directly from Pentagon stockpiles.
According to the Pentagon, the equipment included in the new presidential drawdown includes:
- Additional ammunition for HIMARS
- Additional 155mm artillery rounds
- Additional 120mm mortar rounds
- 190 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights and associated ammunition to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems
- 181 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles
- 250 Javelin anti-armor systems
- 2,000 anti-armor rockets
- Claymore anti-personnel munitions
- Demolitions munitions
- Cold weather gear, helmets, and other field equipment
The equipment included in the new USAI funding:
- Two HAWK air defense firing units
- Anti-aircraft guns and ammunition
- Equipment to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars with Ukraine’s air defense systems
- Equipment to sustain Ukraine’s existing air defense capabilities
- Air defense generators
- Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems
- Four air surveillance radars
- 20 counter-mortar radars
- Spare parts for counter-artillery radars
- Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems
- Precision-guided rockets
- Secure communications equipment
- Medical supplies
- Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment
The Pentagon also put out a fact sheet on Friday detailing US military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion. According to the fact sheet, the US has pledged over $29.3 billion in military equipment alone since February 24, 2022.
“The Boeing-made Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) can hit
targets up to 94 miles away, nearly twice the range of the munitions
Ukraine is currently using with the US-provided HIMARS rocket systems.”
This just means that Russia will take another 150 miles of Ukraine in order to protect Eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
Who is running Americas Ukraine operations the three stooges, Anthony Blinken, Loyd Austin, and Joey Biden?
Digging this hole deeper and deeper for another forever war. 20 years later, long after Biden is dead, may we pull out of Ukraine… If we don’t manage to turn the planet into a nuclear wasteland first….
The latter possibility is increasingly more likely.
You have to wonder if this was all by design. The “forever wars” have done nothing for the USA, except as Chris Hedges put it, “No universal health care. No respite from 8.3 percent inflation. No infrastructure programs to repair decaying roads and bridges, which require $41.8 billion to fix the 43,586 structurally deficient bridges, on average 68 years old. No forgiveness of $1.7 trillion in student debt. No addressing income inequality. No program to feed the 17 million children who go to bed each night hungry. No rational gun control or curbing of the epidemic of nihilistic violence and mass shootings. No help for the 100,000 Americans who die each year of drug overdoses. No minimum wage of $15 an hour to counter 44 years of wage stagnation. No respite from gas prices that are projected to hit $6 a gallon.”
Thomas, I agree with most of what U have said but keep in mind the “Right To Bear Arms’ is a defined Right in our “Bill Of Rights” and if that is nullified in any way than the entire Constitution must then be nullified and a new form of Government instituted, won’t that be interesting and fun, let alone bloody as hell! Also I do not need the Marxist Chris Hedges to make those points, I have known them now for decades, on my own. 🙂
Well, I just might need a bazooka to keep my good-for-nothing neighbors in line.
If your neighbors are the MIC, then isn’t that exactly the case? If you’re really anti-war, don’t you think having a bazooka would be a really great thing?
LOL!! 🙂
While I’d prefer the government spend money on any of these things, that’s not exactly a compelling argument against war, or for any of those things. War is bad because it’s murdering innocent people. It has nothing to do with building roads or whatever. And adding more money to that part of the budget will do nothing to improve the roads. Construction unions will eat that money up in a heartbeat and make no changes to their production schedule. Similar complaints can be said of all you comments.
The problem with war isn’t that it isn’t your favorite socialist intervention. The problem with war is that it’s murdering people.
Like the song, New Sensation. Anyone else has a New Sensation that it’s time for a ridiculously obvious false flag operation? (Sarcasm alert)
Not unlikely!
It will end with ICBM’s
And when Putin hits back even harder then what ? .
Well, this should make it possible for Zelensky to kill a lot more eastern Ukrainians.
Andrei discusses military and economic issues.
The longer the Kiev regime prevails in Ukraine the killings will continue. This means that Russia is obliged to remove the regime in its complete entirity from Ukrainian soil if it wants to stop the continuous import of weaponary into the country. As longs as there is 10 km2 left in that country the weapons delivery and killings will continue.
have tons of money for Ukraine, but no money for our crumbling infrastructure or helping the homeless!
Basically US is telling Russia come and finish Ukraine off before they get the long range rockets.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570954-logic-behind-ukrainian-terrorism/
The logic behind the terror: Why does Ukraine keep attacking civilian areas in Donetsk?
Ukraine’s infantry is inexperienced. The VSU’s numbers are drastically reduced through casualties and desertions.
If Ukraine is conspiciuously ineffective re Russia’s troops and weapons, it stands to reason Ukraine has little recourse than to attack Russia’s civilian infrastructure such as apartment buildings. Either way you observe, they’re killing Russians.
With that in mind, reports of 400,000-500,000 Ukrainian military casualties might be realistic if the pre-war force was nearly 700,000.
I seriously doubt the numbers you’re throwing out.
It might be high, but it includes the dead and wounded.
Biden is a cardboard cutout with RayBans.
Isn’t it well past time to start calling it the Zelensky administration?