Spain will send four “Hawk” air defense systems to Ukraine to help protect it against Russian missiles, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday.
The old Madrid-supplied ‘Hawk’ medium-range surface-to-air systems will join armaments supplied by Germany, France and the United States, the two officials said.
Ukraine’s allies pledged Wednesday in Brussels to strengthen their anti-aircraft defense “as soon as possible” after two days of intense Russian bombardment of the country.
“An Urgent Need”
Germany delivered a state-of-the-art German “Iris-T” defense system and promised three more “next year”. The United States, for its part, has promised the “NASAMS” anti-aircraft defense system, the first two copies of which will soon arrive in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, France has announced the delivery of six Caesar guns, bringing the staffing strength to 24. It will also supply “Crotale” surface-to-air missiles, a French source confirmed.
Ukrainians have “an urgent need” for anti-aircraft defense to deal with Russia’s indiscriminate bombing, Jens Stoltenberg insisted. But provision of the most modern systems takes time and requires staff training in their use.
Hence the demand for the supply of older but still effective surface-to-air defense systems. American “Hawks” were fielded during the Cold War and are no longer used by the US Army after being replaced by more modern Patriot units. But Spain has reformed some of them in recent years to extend their useful life.
Source: BFM TV
