The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur launches a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile May 26 during the Vanguard Pacific Quadrilateral Exercise (PACVAN) between Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and U.S. naval forces in the Philippine Sea , 2019. Picture taken May 26, 2019. US Navy/Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Toni Burton/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON, May 19 – The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help defeat Russia’s naval blockade, officials said, amid fears that more powerful weapons, that could sink Russian warships would exacerbate the conflict.
Ukraine has made no secret that it wants more advanced US capabilities beyond its current inventory of artillery, Javelin and Stinger missiles and other weapons. For example, Kiev’s list includes missiles that could push the Russian navy away from its Black Sea ports, allowing grain and other agricultural products to be shipped around the world again.
Current and former U.S. officials and sources in Congress have cited obstacles to shipping longer-range, more powerful weapons to Ukraine, including lengthy training requirements, difficulties maintaining equipment, or concerns that U.S. weapons could be captured by Russian forces , in addition to the fear of escalation. Continue reading
But three US officials and two congressional sources said they were of two types of powerful anti-ship missiles, the Boeing (BA.N)-made Harpoon and the Kongsberg (KOG.OL) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N)-made Naval Strike Missile actively considering being delivered either directly to Ukraine or through a transfer from a European ally that has the missiles.
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Portugal to provide the Ukrainian military with harpoons with a range of up to 300 km.
But there are several problems preventing Ukraine from receiving the missiles. For one, there’s limited availability of platforms to launch Harpoons from shore — a technically challenging solution, according to several officials — given that it’s primarily a sea-launched missile.
Two US officials said the United States was working on possible solutions, including pulling a launch vehicle off a US ship. Both missiles cost about $1.5 million per shot, according to experts and industry leaders.
About 20 Russian Navy ships, including submarines, are in the Black Sea operational zone, the British Ministry of Defense said.
Bryan Clark, a naval expert at the Hudson Institute, said 12 to 24 anti-ship missiles like the Harpoon, with a range of over 100km, would be enough to threaten Russian ships and could convince Moscow to lift the blockade. “If Putin insists, Ukraine could take out the largest Russian ships because they have nowhere to hide in the Black Sea,” Clark said.
Russia has already suffered casualties at sea, most notably with the sinking of the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet.
WHO GOES FIRST?
A handful of countries would be willing to send harpoons to Ukraine, US officials and congressional sources said. But no one wants to be the first or only nation to do so, fearing reprisals from Russia if a ship is sunk with a harpoon from their stash, the third US official said.
This US official said one country is considering delivering the missile to Ukraine first. Once this “well-stocked” nation commits to sending Harpoons, others could follow, the official said.
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) can be launched from the Ukrainian coast and has a range of 250 km. It also takes less than 14 days of training to work.
The sources said NSMs would be considered less logistically difficult than Harpoons, as NATO allies could borrow available mobile ground launchers and warheads from Norway.
The first two US officials and congressional sources said the United States was trying to find a way for Ukraine to obtain NSMs and launchers from European allies.
Congressional sources said another option would be for Norway to donate NSMs to Ukraine, an idea supported by Norwegian MPs. The Norwegian Ministry of Defense declined to comment on what additional arms and defense supplies it might offer Ukraine.
All requests for weapons with US content such as harpoons and NSM would have to be approved by the US State Department, which is guided by the White House.
Another weapon high on Ukraine’s shopping list is Multiple Rocket Launch Systems (MLRS) such as Lockheed Martin’s M270 (LMT.N), which can hit a target at a distance of 70 kilometers or more, a tripling versus many of their current howitzer rounds. Continue reading
In recent weeks, the Biden administration decided instead to send M777 towed howitzers, which could be deployed more quickly and shipped in larger numbers, the two US officials said.
The two US officials said the M270, or a similar system like the M142 HIMARS, would be considered for shipment to Ukraine once Congress passed a $40 billion additional funding bill that would create an additional drawing board valued at US$11 billion. This allows the President to authorize the transfer of surplus arms from US inventories without the approval of Congress in response to an emergency. Continue reading
Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill in London and Victoria Klesty in Oslo; Edited by Chris Sanders and Daniel Wallis