The Pentagon is considering whether to send four additional M142 HIMARS rocket launcher systems to Ukraine, Politico reported on Saturday. The US has already pledged four such systems to Kiev’s military, but Ukrainian officials want far more.
The US announced at the beginning of June that it would send four of the HIMARS systems, each of which can fire a salvo of six rockets from the back of a truck. The US said it would provide GMLRS guided rockets with the systems, which have a range of between 32km and 60km. The HIMARS platform can also fire a single guided missile with a range of up to 300km, but the US has not yet provided Ukraine with these projectiles.
Unnamed Pentagon officials told Politico that the Defense Department was considering sending another four HIMARS systems as part of a forthcoming US aid package. The decision, which has not yet been finalized, will be “based on Ukrainian immediate needs,” one of the officials said.