The Pentagon has sent technical data to Ukraine to begin local production of FrankenSAM hybrid air defense systems, the White House said . The system allows you to combine modern surface-to-air missiles with Soviet launchers and radars that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have.
“Parallel production of these systems in Ukraine and the United States will speed up their deployment and allow Ukraine to make a significant contribution to the maintenance of its air defense systems,” the White House press release said.
The data was transferred as part of an agreement between the US and Ukrainian military departments on joint production in order to “meet the urgent operational needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
The New York Times reported at the end of October that hybrid air defense systems were being developed in the United States at the request of Ukraine . According to the newspaper, there are two versions of FrankenSAM air defense systems: one combines the Soviet Buk launcher and American Sea Sparrow missiles, the other combines Soviet radars and American Sidewinder missiles.
The day before, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the allocation of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $175 million. According to Mr. Blinken, for further assistance packages to be sent to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, additional funding must be approved by Congress. Republicans and Democrats have been discussing a request for $106 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan for several weeks.
Source : Kommersant
