U.S. Mulls Sending Hawk Missiles To Aid Ukraine In Beating Russian Attacks

The United States is considering sending older HAWK air defense equipment from storage to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian drone and cruise missile attacks, two US officials told Mike Stone and Gerry Doyle of Reuters.

Photo Insert: The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile systems - a smaller, shorter-range air defense system - that the US has already sent to blunt Russia's invasion.

The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile systems - a smaller, shorter-range air defense system - that the US has already sent to blunt Russia's invasion.

The Biden administration would use the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to transfer the HAWK equipment which is based on Vietnam-era technology, but has been upgraded several times.

The PDA allows the United States to transfer defense articles and services from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency.

Reuters was unable to determine how many HAWK systems and missiles the United States has available to transfer. The HAWK system is the predecessor to PATRIOT missile defense system made by Raytheon Technologies which remains off the table for Ukraine, US officials have told Reuters.

US President Joe Biden pledged to Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskiy that Washington would provide Ukraine with advanced air systems after a devastating missile barrage from Russia earlier this month.

The US would likely initially send interceptor missiles for the HAWK system to Ukraine because it was unclear if enough US launchers were in good repair, one official told Reuters. The US systems have been in storage for decades.

A PDA is being considered for later this week, US officials have said. One US official said it would likely be about half the size of the recent security assistance packages which have been around $700 million.

Since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation," the US has sent around $17.6 billion worth of security assistance to Kyiv.

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