The production of the systems will be carried out by Raytheon Technologies (Photo:REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol)
As Ukraine braced itself for another Russian mass missile strike on its energy infrastructure, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on Dec. 1 that it had signed a $1.2 billion contract for the production of six NASAMS air defense systems for the county.
The production of the systems will be carried out by Raytheon Technologies. The official signing of the contract will be announced on Dec. 6, news agency Reuters reported.
In a statement on its website, the Pentagon said the estimated completion date for the systems was around two years away, on Nov. 28, 2025.
The first NASAMS systems arrived in Ukraine on Nov. 7, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov previously announced. According to the Pentagon, two anti-aircraft missile systems of this type are already operating in Ukraine. The systems arrived about a month after Russia began a campaign of mass missile strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities.
Washington announced the fifth Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package – worth almost $3 billion, and which includes six additional NASAMS batteries and missiles – on Aug. 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman for Ukrainian Air Force Command, said that NASAMS air defense systems shoot down 100% of the Russian cruise missiles they target.
Ukraine urgently needs modern, effective air defense systems, as Russia is currently waging a campaign to destroy civilian infrastructure, including power generation and transmission facilities, heating plants, and water supply facilities. Ukraine has been requesting such systems from its allies since the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, which started on Feb. 24.
Since Oct. 10, when the Russian campaign to destroy civilian infrastructure started in earnest, Ukraine has seen at least 50% of its energy system damaged in Russian mass missile attacks. The last such major attack came on Nov. 23, and Kyiv has warned that it expects the Russians to launch another big attack soon.
The Nov. 23 attack saw much of the country lose power and water supplies. The Ukrainian capital Kyiv was particularly badly affected, with large sections of the capital losing power and water supplies for several days.
The Kremlin’s campaign to destroy civilian infrastructure appears to have the aim of getting the Ukrainian population to force their government…
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