- The US is sending Ukraine new tools to help the country fend off Russian drone attacks.
- Kyiv is slated to get several 30 mm gun trucks and mobile laser-guided rocket systems.
- These weapons are part of a new $2.6 billion security package announced by the Pentagon.
Ukraine is getting new truck-mounted guns and precision rocket systems to help the country defend against the Iranian-made exploding drones Russian forces use to terrorize civilians.
The Pentagon on Tuesday announced $2.6 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine, a massive collection of military hardware consisting of artillery, small arms, rockets, radars, anti-armor and mortar systems, transportation vehicles, ammunition for tanks, and more.
Also included in the latest package are nine counter-unmanned aerial system (UAS) 30 mm gun trucks and 10 mobile c-UAS laser-guided rocket systems, both of which are new items that can be used against Russia's drones, according to a senior US defense official.
The gun trucks — which are 30 mm guns mounted on trucks — are expected to "be able to detect and intercept drones, including the Iranian-built Shaheds," the official told reporters during a Tuesday briefing. Shaheds are a group of Iran-made drones that Russia has been using to bombard Ukrainian cities for months; most common is the Shahed-136 type — a long-range loitering munition that can be flown into targets, at which point it explodes on impact.
Though the gun trucks are new, truck-mounted weaponry will not be a ground-breaking addition to Ukraine's arsenal of American weapon systems. The US announced in August 2022 that it was sending VAMPIRE kits, which are laser-guided weapons systems that can be set up in the back of a truck, turning a regular pickup into a drone killer.
The new laser-guided rocket systems included in the latest security package will allow Ukraine to "fire precision rockets from mobile position" to "counter the drone threat," the official said. These will use the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), a capability that has already been provided to Kyiv that turns unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions.
Both of these weapon systems will be sent to Kyiv under Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds, meaning they are procured from the defense industry — and will take months to deliver — instead of pulled from existing Pentagon stocks.
Russia has used Iran-made explosive drones like the Shahed-136 to attack civil infrastructure across Ukraine for months, causing damage to cities and killing civilians.
These weapons, which weigh less than 500 pounds, carry a small explosive payload, but fly at low altitudes and can be launched in swarms. Though they are called drones, they are, more specifically, loitering munitions because they can linger over a specific target before being directed to strike.
Ukraine's military said in a daily update on Wednesday that Russian forces launched 17 Shahed-136 drones in an attack and that 14 of them were shot down by Kyiv's air defenses. "The probability of missile and air strikes remains high across Ukraine, while russia continues to use terror tactics," the military said on Facebook.
The US official said that this week's new security package "includes important capabilities for air defense and to counter Russian unmanned aerial systems."
