US Announces $138 Million HAWK Air Defense Deal for Ukraine
The State Department announced on Tuesday an “emergency foreign military sale” to Ukraine for $138 million worth of equipment to maintain and upgrade its HAWK air defense systems.
The deal is being paid for by US military aid for Ukraine that was included in the US’s annual military spending bill, which President Biden signed into law last month. The bill gave Ukraine $300 million in Foreign Military Financing, a State Department program that gives foreign governments money to buy US-made weapons.
The deal for the HAWK air defense systems comes as Russia is stepping up its missile and drone strikes against infrastructure across Ukraine. Russia’s strikes have been much more effective as Moscow has better intelligence and is finding gaps in Ukraine’s air defense systems, which have been significantly depleted.
