A Ukrainian artilleryman sits in a military truck at a position on the front line near the town of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, on October 31, 2022.

A Ukrainian artilleryman sits in a military truck at a position on the front line near the town of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, on October 31, 2022. AFP via Getty Images / DIMITAR DILKOFF

US, Allies Rush Anti-Drone Equipment to Ukraine, Conduct On-Site Weapons Tracking

A defense official also said the United States has no reason to think military aid to Ukraine is going missing.

More U.S. and allied counter-drone gear is being rushed to Ukraine amid Russian attacks on energy infrastructure with Iranian-made drones, a senior defense official said Monday.

The official also said the U.S. military has increased its efforts to track aid delivered to Ukraine.

A senior military official confirmed recent reports that Russia is using kamikaze drones supplied by Tehran to inflict “widespread” damage.

Friday’s announcement of additional aid brings the total of air-defense gear to 1,400 Stinger short-range shoulder-fired missiles and eight National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, launchers and their missiles, the defense official said.

“Two of those will be in Ukraine in the very near future with six more to be provided later,” the defense official said. 

The United States has also sent Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, or VAMPIREs, to Ukraine.  

Allies and partners have also sent air-defense weapons, including the German IRIS-T and a Slovakian S-300 anti-aircraft radar and missile battery in April. 

“The U.S. also sources many spare parts to keep Ukraine's Soviet-type air-defense systems up and running,” the defense official said. 

Spain has agreed to provide a medium-range surface-to-air HAWK system, the defense official said, adding: “And this is also a system that we are encouraging other countries to provide.”

But as more military aid makes its way to Ukraine, some lawmakers have been complaining that the Pentagon is failing to oversee where the weapons and aid are going. Last week, the State Department released a plan to “counter illicit diversion” of weapons given to Ukraine to other sources. 

The defense official said the Defense Department has restarted onsite visits to make sure that aid is being used correctly.  

“DOD fully supports this plan and is taking an active role as a key implementer,” the official said. 

But while lawmakers may have concerns, the Ukrainians haven’t given the Defense Department any reason for pause, the official said. “I will tell you that in each instance, our team from Kyiv, from the U.S. Embassy, has found the Ukrainians to be very transparent and able to support inspection.” 

The official said that “the [Defense] Department has not seen credible evidence of the diversion of U.S.-provided weapons. Instead, we see Ukraine's frontline units effectively employing security assistance every day on the battlefield.”

That’s in line with the experience of U.S. forces on the ground, who reported to Defense One last month that Ukrainians are using military aid as soon it’s given, with little room to spare. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.