‘Seek and destroy’: New US aid to Ukraine targets Russian artillery

WASHINGTON ― A new $775 million military aid package for Ukraine marks the first time the U.S. is sending ScanEagle drones , for targeting artillery, as well as 105mm howitzers and anti-tank rounds for the Carl Gustaf rifle to the fight against Russia, the Pentagon announced Friday.

The latest package of U.S. aid to Ukraine also includes the AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missile, which will allow Ukrainian forces to target Russian radars in the artillery-focused war. The disclosure marks the first time the Pentagon has discussed its provision of high-speed anti-radiation missiles to Ukraine in detail.

“Ukraine has successfully employed these missiles. They have successfully integrated them onto Ukrainian aircraft. And this enables Ukraine to seek and destroy Russian radars,” a senior defense official told reporters. The Pentagon provided the official for comment on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon is sending 15 ScanEagles ― a small, long-endurance, low-altitude drone made by Insitu and used for reconnaissance, which is intended to help guide targeting for Ukrainian artillery. Other firsts include 16 105mm howitzers (with 36,000 artillery rounds) as well as 1,000, tube-launched, optically tracked anti-tank missiles for Carl Gustaf weapons sent by other allies.

The aid also includes 40 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles for mine-clearing, 50 Humvees and 1,000 Javelin anti-tank weapons.

Some six weeks after the Pentagon announced it will back a new contract for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System for Ukraine , delivery of the weapon is expected in the next two to three months. The system is co-produced by Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace as well as the American firm Raytheon Technologies.

The aid comes days after the U.S. announced it’s sending $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine . That aid included more Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System ammunition for the 16 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, provided by the U.S. so far.

While the Pentagon hasn’t seen Ukrainian forces use HIMARS to retake a significant amount of territory, they have pounded and weakened Russian positions. “You’re seeing this hollowing out of the Russian forces in Ukraine, but with implication for their longer-term sustainability,” the defense official said.

The announcement comes after Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, stoking international fears of a catastrophe on the continent.

“We are very concerned about military operations at or near any of new Ukraine’s nuclear power facilities and are very concerned about any reports of damage to specifically the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s power lines,” the defense official said. “We’ve been very clear that fighting near a nuclear power plant is dangerous, is irresponsible. And we want the fighters and Russia to operate with extreme caution and conduct no actions that would result in a potential radiological release.”

The new package is part of the $40 billion in security and economic assistance passed by Congress and signed into law in May. It is the 19th package of military weapons and equipment committed to Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24.

Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.

华盛顿——五角大楼周五宣布，一项新的价值 7.75 亿美元的对乌克兰军事援助计划标志着美国首次向乌克兰派遣 ScanEagle 无人机（用于瞄准火炮）、105 毫米榴弹炮和卡尔·古斯塔夫步枪的反坦克炮弹，以对抗俄罗斯。

美国最新一轮对乌克兰援助计划中也包括AGM-88高速反辐射导弹，这将使乌克兰军队能够在以炮兵为主的战争中打击俄罗斯雷达。此次披露标志着五角大楼首次详细讨论了向乌克兰提供高速反辐射导弹的事宜。

一位高级国防官员告诉记者：“乌克兰已成功使用这些导弹，并已成功将其整合到乌克兰飞机上。这使得乌克兰能够搜索并摧毁俄罗斯的雷达。”五角大楼要求匿名提供该官员的信息。

五角大楼将向乌克兰派遣15架“扫描鹰”（ScanEagles）无人机——这是一种由Insitu公司制造的小型、长航时、低空侦察无人机，旨在帮助乌克兰炮兵进行目标定位。其他首次援助物资还包括16门105毫米榴弹炮（配备36000发炮弹）以及1000枚由其他盟国提供的、用于卡尔·古斯塔夫反坦克导弹系统的管式发射光学跟踪反坦克导弹。

援助物资还包括 40 辆防地雷、防伏击车辆用于扫雷，50 辆悍马军车和 1000 件标枪反坦克武器。

在五角大楼宣布将支持向乌克兰采购国家先进地对空导弹系统的新合同约六周后，预计该武器将在未来两到三个月内交付。该系统由挪威康斯伯格防务与航空航天公司和美国雷神技术公司联合生产。

就在美国宣布向乌克兰提供10亿美元军事援助的几天后，这笔援助也随之而来。这笔援助包括为美国迄今为止向乌克兰提供的16套M142高机动性火箭炮系统（HIMARS）提供更多制导多管火箭炮系统弹药。

虽然五角大楼尚未看到乌克兰军队使用HIMARS火箭炮夺回大片领土，但他们已经重创并削弱了俄军阵地。“你会看到俄军在乌克兰的实力正在被削弱，但这会影响到他们的长期生存能力，”一位国防官员表示。

此前，俄罗斯和乌克兰互相指责对方炮击了位于扎波罗热的欧洲最大核电站，加剧了国际社会对欧洲大陆发生灾难的担忧。

“我们非常关注乌克兰任何新建核电站附近发生的军事行动，尤其关注有关扎波罗热核电站输电线路受损的报道，”这位国防官员表示。“我们已经明确指出，在核电站附近作战是危险的，也是不负责任的。我们希望交战双方和俄罗斯方面都极其谨慎，不要采取任何可能导致放射性物质泄漏的行动。”

这项新援助计划是国会5月份通过并签署生效的400亿美元安全和经济援助计划的一部分。这是自2月24日战争爆发以来，美国向乌克兰承诺的第19批军事武器和装备。

乔·古尔德是《防务新闻》的资深五角大楼记者，负责报道国家安全政策、政治和国防工业的交汇点。他此前曾担任国会记者。