US to announce $1.3bn in military aid for Ukraine: sources

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) – The United States will announce in the coming days a new commitment to buy $1.3 billion in military aid for Kiev in its conflict with Russia, two US officials said.

The previously unreported weapons package includes air defenses, anti-drone systems, explosive drones and ammunition, one of the US officials said.

The United States is using funds in its Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program, which allows President Joe Biden’s administration to buy weapons from the industry instead of removing them from US arms stockpiles.

Among the systems and munitions that the US plans to buy for kyiv are anti-aircraft defenses made by L3Harris Technologies. (LHX.N) called Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, or VAMPIRE, one of the officials said.

Also included are two different types of loitering munitions, the Phoenix Ghost drone made by AVEVEX, a private California company, and the Switchblade, made by AeroVironment Inc. (OPEN.OR).

In addition, a person briefed on the matter said that Ukraine will get a significant number of anti-drone systems made by Australia’s DroneShield Ltd. (DRO.AX) together with radars, sensors and analysis systems.

The impending US Department of Defense announcement on security assistance to Ukraine comes alongside a virtual meeting Tuesday of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a gathering of allies helping Kiev as Ukraine presses its counteroffensive. against the Russian invasion forces.

The delivery of weapons and systems depends on their availability and the production schedule. The content and value of the package may also change until the announcement.

The Pentagon has provided more than $10.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine under USAI in fiscal year 2023, in seven separate tranches. The expected package would be the eighth. In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, Washington invested $6.3 billion in USAI funds to buy for Ukraine’s defense.

Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington Editing by Don Durfee and Angus MacSwan

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