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| US Ready to Arm Ukraine With Advanced RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Missiles to Fight Russia |
Washington - The United States (US) is preparing to send a number of advanced RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles to Ukraine to counter the Russian invasion. The short-range anti-aircraft missiles are part of the latest major military aid package worth $3.75 billion that Washington has pledged for Kiev.
The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, developed in the early 1960s, is expected to be fitted to the remaining Soviet-era Buk launchers in the Ukrainian inventory. "The package will for the first time include radar-guided Sea Sparrow anti-air missiles, which can be launched from sea or land to intercept aircraft or cruise missiles," said two sources with knowledge of US weapons assistance to Ukraine. (7/1/2023).
"In a bit of battlefield innovation, the Ukrainian military has succeeded in converting an existing Soviet-era Buk launcher to fire Sea Sparrow," the sources continued. Politico, in his report, did not explain how Kiev came up with this battlefield innovation, but noted that Ukraine never having the RIM-7 missile, mounting US-made ammunition into Soviet-made launchers demonstrates Washington's heavy involvement in upgrading the weapon.
The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile has previously been successfully fitted to the Kub anti-aircraft launcher, the predecessor to the Buk system, in collaboration between Raytheon and the Polish defense manufacturer; WZU Sa. Upgrades on the Soviet-built launcher were first rolled out in the early 2010s.
In recent months, Kyiv-backed Western nations have intensified their efforts to bolster Ukraine's anti-aircraft defenses, struggling to deal with the escalating bombing campaign against critical Ukrainian infrastructure launched by Moscow following the Crimea Bridge explosion.
Recent arms aid package deliveries to Ukraine have included the NASAMS short-range missile system from the US and the IRIS-T air defense system from Germany. Meanwhile at least one battery of the US Patriot missile system, the backbone of NATO's anti-aircraft defense, is expected to be transferred to Kiev in the near future.