US to supply Ukraine with Excalibur precision artillery munitions

By Al-Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Aug 2022 18:30
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The Excalibur weapons were not included in the latest round of the US military aid package to Ukraine and their exact delivery date is still being under discussion.

Ukrainian servicemen fire at Russian positions from a US-supplied M777 howitzer in Kharkov region, Ukraine, on Thursday, July 14, 2022 (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

The US is set to supply Ukraine with Excalibur precision-guided artillery munitions in a new military aid package, including five new types of hardware that have not yet been delivered to Kiev, Politico reported, citing sources.

On Friday, the White House said that US President Joe Biden signed a memorandum authorizing a drawdown of $775 million worth of military assistance to Ukraine. This constitutes the nineteenth drawdown of equipment from the US department of defense inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.

The Excalibur shells were not included in this round, and the exact delivery date is still being under discussion, the report said.

The US is set to provide the Ukrainian forces with new precision weapons, which are reportedly able to target "dug-in Russian positions and command posts," according to the report.

The package consists of 16 of 105mm howitzer artillery cannons, 15 ScanEagle reconnaissance drones, 1,500 tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missiles, 40 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) light vehicles, and 2,000 anti-armor ammunition for Carl Gustaf rifles. It will also include 1,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles and ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS).

This decision comes ahead of Ukraine's threat to damage the Zaporozhye NPP to which many have argued could result in a "large-scale catastrophe that could lead to radiation contamination of vast territories", according to the Kremlin.

Russian forces have had complete control over the NPP since March, but drone attacks by Ukrainian forces have regularly targeted the facility, leading Russia to request help from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to address security issues.