Pentagon Ready to Transfer ATACMS Missiles to Ukraine

The U.S. Department of Defense is ready to provide Ukraine with a portion of its long-range ATACMS missiles equipped with cassette warheads, pending approval from President Joe Biden. Army Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Doug Bush, disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to Bush, the specific ATACMS missiles to be transferred to Ukraine have already been identified, and the U.S. military is prepared to act swiftly in this situation. "We are ready whenever and however the President decides to do it," emphasized Bush.

Earlier, it was revealed that U.S. President Joe Biden informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting at the White House that Washington would provide a limited quantity of ATACMS missiles to support Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia.

In Washington, the prior reluctance to transfer long-range missiles was attributed to insufficient stocks of this weaponry in the United States. Another reason privately voiced by American officials was concern over potential escalation from Russia.

ATACMS missiles come in several versions, including those with cassette warheads or conventional warheads. They have a range of 25 to 300 kilometers and can carry between 300 and 950 cassette submunitions, as per the official U.S. Army manual. While Doug Bush mentioned that the specific missiles to be sent to Ukraine have been identified, he did not provide further details.

ATACMS missiles can be launched from the same launchers Ukraine currently uses for GPS-guided missile launches, with batches of six missiles fired at once. The difference lies in the fact that only one ATACMS missile is released per launch.

"The modifications needed to adapt the launchers for ATACMS firing are not overly significant—some cables, some software, so it's not critical," said Doug Bush.

Last month, Bush informed reporters that the U.S. Army is preparing for initial deliveries of missiles to replace ATACMS in its arsenal. These missiles are called "Precision Strike Missile" and, like ATACMS, are produced by Lockheed Martin Corp.

As previously analyzed by The Gaze, the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine could potentially alter the course of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.