Pentagon’s latest arms package for Ukraine tailored to upcoming counteroffensive
Jamie McIntyre
‘NEW, SIGNIFICANT CAPABILITIES’: The latest package of U.S. military assistance for Ukraine has been designed to meet some of the most pressing needs as the country prepares for the next violent stage of the war: a counteroffensive to reclaim territory lost to Russia over the past 13 months.
“This is a colossal territory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the U.S. National Governors Association in a virtual address Tuesday. “The line of active hostilities in Ukraine now is more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) long. It’s like from Washington, D.C. to Chicago and back!” he said. “The total frontline is even more than that. Millions of people live in the cities and villages from which we have either already expelled the Russian flag or are preparing to do so.”
The $2.6 billion dollar package includes an immediate infusion of artillery, motor and tank rounds, along with HIMARS missiles, Patriot air defense interceptors, anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers, small arms, and a variety of heavy trucks to refuel, recover, and transport forces on the battlefield. These items, valued at $500 million, will come directly from U.S. stocks.
In the longer term, the U.S. is procuring $2.1 billion in additional ammunition and weapons systems, including more missiles for the NASAMS air defense system and, for the first time, nine counter-Unmanned Aerial System 30mm gun trucks, along with 10 mobile laser-guided rocket systems designed to shoot down drones, especially the Iranian-built Shaheds.
“Our focus is on supporting the Ukrainians to change the dynamic on the ground. We want to help Ukraine advance and hold its positions in what we expect will be a Ukrainian counteroffensive,” a senior defense official told reporters yesterday. “We continue to pursue that objective in several ways, including by working with allies and partners to provide new and significant capabilities and training.”
PENTAGON ANNOUNCES $2.6 BILLION UKRAINE MILITARY AID PACKAGE
TRAINING IS KEY: The Pentagon says for Ukraine to succeed against a numerically superior force dug in in hundreds of miles of trenches, the country will require the kind of sophisticated maneuver warfare that the Russians have been unable to muster so far in the war.
Ukrainian fighters are war-weary, but unlike the Russian conscript army, remain highly motivated, and they will soon be bolstered by thousands of troops who have been training in Europe, including 7,000 trained by the U.S. in Germany.
“To bring all of these capabilities to bear in a coordinated manner, we have expanded U.S.-led training of Ukraine’s forces to focus on combined arms and joint maneuver operations,” said the senior official at yesterday’s briefing. “We are putting all of these pieces together to provide full, lasting, combat-credible capabilities covering all of the steps from the donation, to the training, to the maintenance and sustainment.”
NEW COUNTER DRONE CAPABILITIES: The Pentagon revealed yesterday that it plans to send Ukraine a new mobile system designed to detect and shoot down the Iranian-built drone that Russia has been using to attack critical infrastructure and civilian targets.
The system, still considered to be in development because it has not been fielded by the U.S. military, was described as a “mobile c-UAS laser-guided rocket system.”
“That follows a January competition held by the U.S. Army, which was seeking a system to fight off Shahed-136 suicide drones,” according to Defense One, which reported that representatives of government contracting company SAIC confirmed the U.S. is sending the “experimental platform.”
“SAIC, which participated in the competition, is in the running to send ten of the weapons to Ukraine, a company representative told Defense One on the sidelines of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium last week,” the publication said. “Ukraine has downed many of the Iranian-made drones, which cost about $20,000 apiece, but sometimes is forced to use $500,000 air-defense missiles to do so.”
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HAPPENING TODAY: The meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, wraps up today with a press briefing by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at 8:30 a.m., followed by a separate news conference by Secretary of State Antony Blinken at 9:30 a.m.
Stoltenberg will be livestreamed at https://www.nato.int, with Blinken following on www.state.gov and www.YouTube.com/statedept.
McCARTHY MEETS TSAI: It’s being described as a historic meeting, the first time a U.S. speaker of the House is meeting with Taiwan’s chief executive on American soil. The setting is the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, where Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen sits down at 3 p.m. EDT for face-to-face talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). McCarthy’s welcoming remarks and a post-meeting news conference at 5 p.m. will be livestreamed at https://www.speaker.gov/live.
China has continued to express its profound displeasure with the meeting, but its rhetoric has been muted compared to the bellicose reaction to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) visit last year to Taipei when Beijing’s response included large military drills aimed at intimidating Taiwan.
“China firmly opposes the US’s arrangement for Tsai Ing-wen’s ‘transit’ trip to the U.S. and a meeting between her and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the third highest-ranking official of the US government,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. “It seriously contravenes the one-China principle and provisions in the three China-U.S. joint communiques and gravely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
CHINA COMPLAINS ABOUT KEVIN MCCARTHY ‘SENDING WRONG SIGNALS’ TO TAIWAN
MACRON IN CHINA: French President Emmanuel Macron is in Beijing for a three-day state visit in which he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Before departing, Macron talked by phone with President Joe Biden, and the two leaders agreed that China should be engaged in an effort to hasten the end of the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
“The two leaders have mentioned their joint willingness to engage China to accelerate the end of the war in Ukraine and take part in building sustainable peace in the region,” Macron’s office said in a statement.
Xi met last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, in what was seen as an affirmation of its “no-limits” friendship, but Beijing so far has claimed to be neutral on the war.
OPINION: US SHOULD RECALL ITS AMBASSADOR IF FRANCE GIVES CHINA HIGH-TECH ACCESS
ZELENSKY IN POLAND: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife are in Poland today for a state visit to his neighbor to the west, in what is said to be his first state visit since the beginning of the war more than a year ago. While Zelensky traveled through Poland, he had not made an official visit to meet with the president.
Polish President Andrzej Duda announced last month that Poland would transfer a number of Soviet-era MiG-29s from its air force to Ukraine, and the first five planes were reported to have arrived this week.
Slovakia has announced that it plans to donate 13 of its older MiG-29 to Ukraine as well.
ZELENSKY ARRIVES IN POLAND TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT DUDA
A WORD ABOUT FINLAND: Secretary of State Antony Blinken took part in the official welcoming ceremony and flag-raising at NATO headquarters in Brussels to welcome Finland into the fold as the alliance’s 31st member.
“Finland has a highly capable military and has been an active participant in NATO-led operations; it also shares our values and strong democratic institutions,” Blinken said in a statement. “We are confident Finland’s membership will strengthen our collective defense and enhance our ability to respond to security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic area.”
“Sweden is also a strong and capable partner that is ready to join NATO,” Blinken added. “We encourage Turkiye and Hungary to ratify the accession protocols for Sweden without delay so we can welcome Sweden into the alliance as soon as possible.”
At the Pentagon, a senior defense official noted the Nordic nation is punching above its weight when it comes to its support for Ukraine. “Finland is one of the highest contributors to Ukraine both in percentage of GDP terms and in total dollars spent on military assistance,” the official said. “In fact, when you look at security assistance for Ukraine as a percentage of GDP, among the top 20 donors, the United States is roughly in the middle.”
RUSSIA WARNS FINLAND JOINING NATO IS ‘ILL-CONCEIVED’ AND WILL ‘HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT’
APPLE EXEC NEW DIU CHIEF: Doug Beck, a vice president at Apple and a captain in the Navy Reserve, has been named director of the Defense Innovation Unit, which oversees efforts to accelerate the Pentagon’s adoption and integration of commercial technology.
Appointed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Beck will also serve as a senior adviser on technology innovation, competition, and strategic impact to Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
During his 26-year career in uniform, Beck served with a joint special operations task force in both Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007.
INDUSTRY WATCH: Leonardo DRS, Inc. has been awarded contracts valued at over $1 billion to provide the integrated electric propulsion components for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, which is the replacement for the current nuclear-armed Ohio-class subs.
“This award represents our company’s dedication to the warfighter; developing innovative systems for critical next-generation national security platforms like the Columbia-class ballistic submarine,” said Leonardo DRS CEO Bill Lynn. “We are proud to be partnered with General Dynamics Electric Boat and the U.S. Navy to provide the state-of-the-art components that are at the core of this critical U.S. Navy platform.”
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Pentagon announces $2.6 billion Ukraine military aid package
Washington Examiner: Zelensky arrives in Poland to meet with President Duda
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Washington Examiner: US spy plane monitors new Russia warship as Finland joins NATO
Washington Examiner: Putin reckons with ‘long-term’ economic isolation from West
Washington Examiner: Russia warns Finland joining NATO is ‘ill-conceived’ and will ‘have a negative effect’
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Wall Street Journal: Taiwan Leader, U.S. Senators Met Ahead Of McCarthy Visit
Washington Times: China Steps Up Incursions Near Taiwan Prior To Tsai-McCarthy Meeting
AFP: China Says Growing U.S. Military Presence On Philippine Bases “Endangering Regional Peace” Amid Taiwan Tension
New York Times: French President Hopes China Can Press Russia To End War In Ukraine
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AP: He’s a war criminal’: Elite Putin security officer defects
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Defense One: US Sending Experimental Anti-Drone Weapons to Ukraine
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Calendar
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 5
9 a.m. National Harbor, Md. — Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition continues with Vice Adm. John Mustin, chief, Navy Reserve; Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu; Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development Vice Adm. Jeff Hughes; and Deputy Marine Corps Commandant for Information Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy https://seaairspace.org/
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies: “Global Security Forum focused on Transatlantic Defense,” with Adm. Christopher Grady, Joint Chiefs vice chairman; William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; Marek Magierowski, Polish ambassador to the U.S.; and German Air Force Gen. Chris Badia, deputy supreme allied commander transformation, NATO https://www.csis.org/events/2023-global-security-forum-transatlantic-defense
9 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in-person “Spacepower Security Forum,” with Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear; Derek Tournear, director, Space Development Agency; and Lisa Costa, chief technology and innovation officer, U.S. Space Force https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event
10 a.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Managing China-Related Proliferation Challenges,” with Youngjun Kim, professor of international politics at Korea National Defense University; Yeseul Woo, Ph.D. candidate at King’s College London; and Maximilian Hoell, senior policy fellow at the European Leadership Network https://www.hudson.org/events/managing-china-related-proliferation-challenges
10:30 a.m. 789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research discussion: “A National Strategy for Countering North Korea,” with Joseph DeTrani, senior adviser at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea; Robert Joseph, senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy; and Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea https://www.aei.org/events/a-national-strategy-for-countering-north-korea
2 p.m. — Defense News webcast: “Lessons learned from Ukraine shape industrial base policy,” with Christine Michienzi, chief technology officer, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment https://events.defensenews.com/lessons-learned
THURSDAY | APRIL 6
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Ways Ukraine can join the European Union within a reasonable timeline and with clear conditions for accession,” with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna https://www.csis.org/events/conversation-olga-stefanishyna
10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies “Aerospace Nation” event with Lt. Gen. Richard Moore, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, U.S. Air Force; and Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, U.S. Space Force https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/april-6
2 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research discussion: “Reconstructing Ukraine’s Infrastructure,” with R. Richard Geddes, nonresident senior fellow, AEI; Natalie Jaresko, managing director of EY-Parthenon; Matthew Murray, adjunct professor at Columbia University; former U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick, senior counselor at the Brunswick Group; and former Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), distinguished visiting fellow in the practice of public policy, AEI https://www.aei.org/events/reconstructing-ukraines-infrastructure
FRIDAY | APRIL 7
9 a.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs annual conference: “China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations” https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/annual_conference_on_china
11 a.m. — Washington Post live virtual discussion: “U.S. military readiness and innovation in a new international and technological era,” with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), a member of the House Armed Services Committee; and retired Adm. Harry Harris, former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
QUOTE OF THE DAY “As we welcome Finland’s accession to NATO, I want to point out that Finland is one of the highest contributors to Ukraine both in percentage of GDP terms and in total dollars spent on military assistance … In fact, when you look at security assistance for Ukraine as a percentage of GDP, among the top 20 donors, the United States is roughly in the middle.” A senior defense official briefing reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday