US delivers more M142 HIMARS rocket/missile launchers to Ukraine.

On November 20, 2023, the United States Department of Defense announced a new aid package for Ukraine. Worth $125 million, this package includes an additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) with associated munitions, anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, 155mm and 105mm artillery munitions, TOW missiles ( Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided), Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems.
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US DoD delivers additional M142 Himars to Ukraine. (Picture source: UD DoD and Wikimedia)

To date, the United States has therefore provided 17 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) systems to Ukraine. Other allies also supplied 10 MLRS systems to Ukraine. Ukraine therefore currently has around thirty HIMARS.

The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) can fire the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) MGM-140, a family of short-range, surface-to-surface missiles developed by the United States Army. Conceived in the 1980s and deployed in the early 1990s, ATACMS was designed to provide a deep-strike capability, surpassing the range of traditional artillery. Early ATACMS models reached about 165 kilometers, with later versions like Block IA and II extending to around 300 kilometers.

The missile's power of destruction is substantial. It can be equipped with various types of warheads, including unitary warheads for pinpoint strikes against specific targets or submunitions that can scatter over a wide area to engage multiple targets or deny an area to the enemy. The submunition variant, for instance, can disperse hundreds of smaller bomblets over a broad area, making it effective against softer targets like enemy infantry, light vehicles, or air defense systems.

In addition to heavy weapons, the package also provides Ukraine with critical support and countermeasures against unmanned aerial systems, including laser-guided munitions. More than 3 million rounds of light ammunition, grenades, demolition munitions for clearing obstacles, Claymore antipersonnel mines and a dozen trucks for transporting heavy equipment are part of the delivery. To help Ukrainian forces weather the harsh winter, the United States is also providing cold weather gear, as well as spare parts, maintenance supplies and other field equipment.

This security assistance, valued at up to $125 million, comes from Department of Defense inventories, using funds previously authorized under presidential disbursement authority. Additionally, the package is complemented by $300 million from the Security Assistance Initiative of Ukraine. This funding is part of the continuing resolution recently passed by Congress, effectively utilizing remaining funds currently allocated to support Ukraine.

This significant U.S. support for Ukraine is part of a broader commitment, which has seen the United States provide more than $24.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Biden administration. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $27 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and more than $24.2 billion since Russia's unprovoked and brutal invasion began on February 24. 2022.