How the US is Arming Ukraine

The U.S. has pledged an indefinite number of laser-guided rocket systems to Ukraine. This will include $22.6 million worth of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II, or APKWS II, which is a 70mm rocket guided by a BAE Systems laser guidance kit. Precision guidance allows the rockets to hit lightly armored targets in restricted areas while minimizing collateral damage.

Though it remains to be seen which platform the Ukrainians will use to fire the rockets, experts speculate that Ukraine may be able to outfit their Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, or the 16 Mi-17 U.S.-provided helicopters with the rockets.

Most of the military supplies the U.S. has pledged to Ukraine are being drawn from existing American stockpiles. The Puma aerial drone is an exception. The Department of Defense inked a $19.7 million deal with defense contractor AeroVironment to supply Puma drones to aid the Ukrainian military effort.

Puma is a surveillance drone equipped with an infrared camera that can fly more than three hours on a full battery over a range of 12 miles.

The U.S defensive package to Ukraine includes a number of unmanned coastal defense vessels, also known as uncrewed surface vessels, or simply drone boats. Though U.S. officials have stressed that the drone boats will be primarily defensive assets, used to dissuade any potential future Russian amphibious assault, they could also theoretically be equipped with offensive weapons, such as rocket launchers, to attack Russian naval assets.

AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars, manufactured by Northrop Grumman and ThalesRaytheonSystems, are mobile, short range systems designed to detect incoming mortar, artillery and rocket fire. These systems can also assist in determining the point of origin of incoming fire for the purposes of a counterattack.

The AN/TPQ-36 system can be set up for use in 15 minutes and broken down to move in five minutes or less. Units typically require a Humvee or 2.75 ton truck to move and can be critical in saving military and civilian lives in Ukraine.

AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radars are designed to identify incoming threats from drones, cruise missiles, and both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft – including helicopters and fighter jets. The system can be integrated into air defense systems that can then eliminate any detected incoming aerial threats. The U.S. has agreed to supply two of these advanced systems to Ukraine.