Ukraine has received the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) from the US, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in an interview Sunday.
Speaking to CBS News, Zelensky did not specify the number of Raytheon systems delivered. However, he described it as “not enough.”
“I want to thank President Biden for a positive decision that has been already made. And to the US Congress, we received NASAMS,” Zelensky said, according to a transcript of the interview.
“But believe me, it’s not even nearly enough to cover the civilian infrastructure, schools, hospitals, universities, homes of Ukrainians.”
BREAKING: Ukraine has received two NASAMS air defense systems from the United States. This is HUGE!#ArmUkraineNow
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) September 25, 2022
Six Systems Promised
The NASAMS are part of the $2.98 billion in defense aid the US Department of Defense announced for Ukraine on August 24.
According to the announcement, six systems and munitions were to be sent along with other military equipment. Two days later, Raytheon announced receiving a $182 million NASAMS contract from the US Army for Ukraine.
Co-developed by Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA), the NASAMS consists of a Sentinel radar, KDA fire distribution center, and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile to counter a range of aerial targets, including cruise missiles.
It has a range of 30 to 50 kilometers (19 to 31 miles), depending on the munitions used.
