As high-performance weapons are gathered in Ukraine, the United States, Germany and France have stepped up to assist.
Germany is negotiating with the Swedish government to purchase the IRIS-T air defense system to add a mobile launcher to Ukraine as an enhancement, Spiegel reported on the 3rd, citing sources.
Germany has already shipped one IRIS-T system to Ukraine and it is the most advanced weapon to repel Russian missile and drone strikes, Reuters said on Monday.
The IIRIS-T system, built by unlisted German weapons manufacturer Diehl, is the world's most accurate missile launch capable of shooting down fighter jets, helicopters, drones, missiles and cruise missiles from a distance of 40 km (25 miles).
The French-Italian joint venture AMP/T-MAMBA air defense system, called 'Mamba', is a European system that is the best in intercepting ballistic missiles, tracking dozens of targets, capable of shooting down 10 simultaneously, and intercepting ballistic missiles. will be jointly delivered, the French Defense Minister said in a statement on the 6th.
The French Ministry of Defense announced on the same day that it had concluded technical talks to jointly deliver the SAMP/T-MAMBA air defense system to France and Ukraine.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornou and Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto issued a statement after the call that day.
"This will allow Ukraine to defend itself against Russian drone, missile and plane attacks by covering a significant part of Ukrainian territory," the French defense minister said in a statement.
President Zelensky said at a joint press conference in Kyiv with the EU Commission and the heads of the leaders of 27 EU countries on the first anniversary of the war on February 24, "If weapons, especially long-range weapons, accelerate, we will not only not give up on Bahmut, but we will not give up Bahmut from 2014." We will begin to eliminate the occupiers from occupied Donbass (Eastern Ukraine)."
The U.S. announced on the 3rd that it would provide a ground-launched small-diameter bomb (GLSDB), a new weapon that doubles the firing range of rockets launched from the High Mobility Artillery and Rocket System (HIMARS), which turned the tide of the war in Ukraine last year.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on the same day that the GLSDB, which was newly created by Boeing in collaboration with Saab of Sweden, is included in the $2.175 billion U.S. military aid package.
"This demonstrates Boeing's commitment to responding to the nation's demand for rapid and effective capabilities for the United States and its international partners," a Boeing spokesperson said today. We are working closely with the US government," he told Reuters. "Today's pledge of aid opens the door to more deliveries from GLSDB, and the arrival of new rockets will exponentially increase Ukraine's rocket range after the US-provided HIMARS in late June 2022," Reuters said of GLSDB's generous support. “HIMARS has a range of 77 km (48 miles) and played a key role in the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces after the invasion of Russia,” it said.
The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) can penetrate deeper into Russian territory with a firing range of 94 miles (151 km) for a travel of 48 miles (77 km).
“It is important not to forget what President Vladimir Putin said in Volgograd on the 2nd,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA.
Reuters reported that President Putin's speech said: "We have the means to respond and it will not end with the use of armored vehicles and everyone must understand that."
The longest-range delivery weapon, the GMLRS, first successfully flight-tested in 2015 by combining an airplane-delivered GBU-39 small-caliber bomb with an M26 rocket motor common in US military inventory.
GLSDB is a navigation system, unlike traditional artillery's parabolic fire at a target, it maneuvers around obstacles such as mountain anti-aircraft defense, avoids jamming, and has bombs programmed.
The ground-launched small caliber bomb (GMLRS) uses rocket motors to propel 250-pound ammunition into the air, spreads its scissors-like wings, and glides toward its target guided by satellites. The New York Times said on the 3rd that it did not.
In March 2015, Boeing and Saab reported on the success of their multi-launch rocket system that “a ground-launched small caliber bomb (GLSDB) incorporating SDB I and M26 rocket motor technology has been shown to be able to withstand rocket artillery fire without performance degradation.” revealed
“The GLSDB combines two highly successful, battle-proven systems into an effective ground strike capability,” said Beth Kluba, vice president of weapons and missiles at Boeing. We will provide GLSDB quickly and cost-effectively both domestically and globally.”