Check out the weapons sent to Ukraine to participate in the war

US President Joe Biden has announced the opening of an $800 million weapons package for Ukraine, in the context of Western countries stepping up military aid to Kiev against Russia’s special campaign.

According to the Guardian, the Western military assistance program started very carefully with helmets and bulletproof vests. But now, they have transferred to Ukraine powerful weapons that can destroy Russian tanks and artillery from a distance of 80km. And they include:

Bayraktar TB2 . unmanned aerial vehicle

Since the early stages of the war, Turkish-made drones have shown formidable power through a number of clips of fighting in Ukraine. They successfully destroyed Russian tanks and armored vehicles.

However, Bayraktar TB2 became less effective after the Russian military set up an air defense system in the war zone.

Turkey began selling TB2 “killer” to Ukraine in 2019. Turkish officials declined to disclose the specific number, but independent estimates suggest that Ukraine must own up to 50 TB2.

Aaron Stein, research director at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, describes them as the “Toyota Corolla of drones”. He explains that while it’s not as powerful as a high-end sports car, it does meet 80% of the benchmarks.

Therefore, according to him, even for a modern military like the US, it is important to use a low-cost system to attack another superior force.

Switchblade drone

President Joe Biden’s unprecedented support program for Ukraine includes 100 Switchblade aircraft (folding knives), or “suicide drones” that will explode upon impact. .

Each plane folds into a lightweight projectile launcher. Once fired, the wing part of the aircraft pops out and heads towards the target according to the specified route. The most powerful version of the Switchblade can fly 185km/h and has a range of up to 80km. The lighter version only has a range of 10km.

Stinger missile

The latest US weapons package also includes 800 Stinger air defense systems. The FIM-92 Stinger is a man-portable defense system, or Manpads, suitable for ground combat, in addition they can be deployed from helicopters. This weapon played an important role in the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s.

Germany has also pledged to send 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine.

Javelin rocket

Javelin is an anti-tank missile system that uses thermal imaging technology to find targets. The US military aid package to Ukraine includes 2,000 Javelin missiles. They can be deployed from shoulder launchers.

Shoulder anti-tank gun

The White House announced that it is transferring 6,000 AT4 shoulder-fired anti-tank guns to Ukraine. This weapon is manufactured in Sweden and has a range of 500 meters. However, it only fires once, so it needs to be reloaded after each fire.

European countries are supplying Kiev with thousands of other anti-tank weapons. Germany also pledged to send 1,000 domestic anti-tank weapons, while Norway sent 2,000 and Sweden 5,000.

Light anti-tank missile

Britain has sent 3,615 short-range light anti-tank weapons, or NLAW missiles, jointly produced by this country and Sweden, to the Kiev forces.
Hundreds of other NLAW missiles are also on their way to Ukraine at a cost of about $150 million.

This missile weighs only 12.5kg and is about 1 meter long, very suitable for infantry use. They have a maximum range of only 800 meters. The US also announced that it would send 1,000 of these weapons to Ukraine.

Starstreak air defense missile

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has promised to deliver Starstreak high-speed anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine, but did not specify the amount. Starstreak is said to be the fastest short-range surface-to-air missile. They accelerate immediately after launch and are armed with three laser-guided bombs.

Helicopter Mi-17

Poland proposes to send all MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine through a US base in Germany. Although opposed to the plan, Washington also sent five Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine.