VALERIE INSINNA
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will supply Ukraine with refurbished Soviet tanks along with drones, air defense missiles and armored vehicles as part of a new $400 million arms package announced today.
The centerpiece of the latest tranche of aid is the US-funded provision of 45 refurbished Soviet T-72B tanks, which will come from the Czech Republic and be upgraded with “advanced optics, communications and armor packages,” the Defense Department stated.
The tanks are part of a larger agreement with the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, in which the Dutch will pay to upgrade an additional Czech 45 T-72Bs also bound for Ukraine. Through this initiative, which is worth $90 million in total, the countries will begin delivering the 90 tanks to Ukraine as early as December 2022, the countries said in a trilateral statement.
“These are tanks that the Ukrainians know how to use on the battlefield,” said Pentagon Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh. “In terms of why aren’t we providing new tanks or American tanks, introducing a new main battle tank is extremely costly, it’s time sensitive, and it would be a huge undertaking for the Ukrainian forces.”
Singh added that she expects contracting actions for the T-72 upgrades to begin “soon.” The United States would continue discussing Western platforms that could be sent to Ukraine in the future, but “these tanks, we believe, will make a difference on the battlefield,” she said.
Another new item included in the package is funding to refurbish air defense missiles for the Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK system, following Spain’s decision to send Ukraine four HAWK medium-range surface-to-air missile launchers in October.
Singh said the missiles will come out of the US military’s existing stores, but declined to comment on how many missiles will be provided to Ukraine and when they will be delivered.
Part of what makes American Rheinmetall’s approach transformational is that they prioritized enabling future growth — what the Army calls persistent modernization — in every part of their design.
The package also includes:1,100 Phoenix Ghost tactical drones
40 Armored Riverine Boats
Funding to refurbish 250 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles (another item provided to Ukraine by the United States for the first time)
Tactical secure communications systems and surveillance systems
Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment
The upcoming order for Phoenix Ghost represents a major plus up for the secretive aircraft made by AEVEX and developed by the Air Force’s Big Safari group. The existence of the drone was first revealed in April when the United States pledged to send more than 121 systems to Ukraine. The Pentagon has ordered an additional 116 systems for Ukraine since then, according to a Defense Department fact sheet published on Sept. 9.
Singh said she didn’t have an exact timeline for when this latest tranche of Phoenix Ghost drones would be delivered to Ukraine, but a portion of a previous order made in this summer have been transferred to Ukrainian troops.
The United States has pledged more than $18.9 billion in security assistance since the beginning of the Biden administration in January 2021, with $18.2 billion of that funding being made available after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
This latest package is funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the Defense Department to procure items for Ukraine by contracting directly with defense companies.
The Pentagon has also used a mechanism known as Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the department to furnish weaponry from its own stockpiles. The refurbished HAWK missiles will eventually be made available to Ukraine using this authority, the department said in a statement.
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