UK to Send Air Defence Missiles to Ukraine

Britain's Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace poses for a group picture on the second day of a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the NATO Headquarter in Brussels on Oct. 13, 2022. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

The UK will for the first time give Ukraine rockets that can shoot down cruise missiles, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday ahead of a NATO meeting in Brussels.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) rockets will help protect Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure as “Russia’s latest indiscriminate strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine warrant further support to those seeking to defend their nation.”

The announcement came after Moscow launched a wave of deadly missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s cities and power plants this week.

The AMRAAM will be used with the NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) air defence systems pledged by the United States.

‘Augment the American Platforms’

Wallace told Sky News the AMRAAM missile will join the U.S. systems as “they are the same type of missiles” so they will “really augment the American platforms” in Ukraine.

The package will also include hundreds of air defence missiles “of other types previously provided,” hundreds of additional drones, and 18 howitzer artillery guns on top of the 64 already delivered, the MoD said.

Advanced medium range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM). PA Graphics

The UK also pledged £10 million ($11 million) to NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine, which will go towards urgent non-lethal assistance such as winter clothes, shelters, generators, fuel trucks, and ambulances for the Ukrainian Army.

The defence secretary told Sky News it was not a risk that the Western allies will run out of weapons to support Ukraine with because “unlike Russia” the West has the ability “to refurbish or indeed manufacture a new supply chain, which is what we’re doing right now.”

“The UK-Danish joint lead international fund is all about placing orders in a manufacturing space to make sure that we can go on between 2023 and 2024, and keep going on,” he added.

Wallace said he would not speculate on how NATO would respond to a nuclear attack by Russia on Ukraine, adding: “The fundamentals are that NATO is an alliance of all types, conventional and nuclear powers, and fundamentally we are here to make sure our readiness is for whatever is thrown at us.”

Bolstering Ukraine

According to the MoD, more than 10,000 anti-tank missiles, including NLAW, Javelin, and Brimstone missiles, have been given to Ukraine to bolster its armed forces since the war began.

The government further confirmed that almost 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, nearly three million rounds of small arms ammunition, 2,600 anti-structure munitions, and 4.5 tonnes (5 tons) of plastic explosives have been sent to the country.

Six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak launchers, along with “hundreds” of short-range surface-to-air missiles, more than 28 M109 155mm self-propelled guns, 36 L119 105mm artillery guns and ammunition, and more than 2,000 unmanned aerial systems have also been provided, along with counter-battery radar systems and communications and electronic warfare equipment.

PA Media contributed to this report.