Lithuania purchased two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) launchers that will be donated to Ukraine, Lithuania‘s President Gitanas Nauseda announced on 28 June.
NASAMS is a short/medium-range ground-based air defense system developed and produced by Norway’s company Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace and US aerospace and defense conglomerate Raytheon Technologies Corporation. NASAMS can take down unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, cruise missiles, and fixed-wing aircraft.
“Air defense is key in Ukraine’s fight against the aggressor,” Gitanas Naused wrote on Twitter. “Looking forward to more collective decisions on support to Ukraine at the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Together until victory!”
Currently, Ukraine has two batteries of NASAMS air defense systems. Six more systems were ordered by the United States and one by Canada as part of the military aid to Ukraine, according to Militarnyi.
“Two NASAMS rocket launchers of the mid-range air defense system will be fully prepared so that the Ukrainian military could integrate them into existing fire control units, supplementing and expanding the operational capacity of NASAMS systems currently used in Ukraine donated by Norway and the USA. The value of the contract is about 9,8 million euros,” the Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas wrote on Facebook.
Lithuania will also transfer ten M113 armored personnel carriers and ammunition to Ukraine, Arvydas Anušauskas announced. Thus, the total number of M113 armored personnel carriers transferred by Lithuania will reach 72 vehicles.
Related:
- US approves sale of a NASAMS system to Ukraine
- Canada to purchase NASAMS missile defence system in US for Ukraine
- Pentagon awards Raytheon 1.2 bln USD contract to produce NASAMS for Ukraine
- First radars, for which Lithuanians crowdfunded EUR 14mn, arrived in Ukraine
- Lithuania gives Ukraine 36 anti-aircraft guns that can defeat Shaheds
