Tag: Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System

18+: Bloody weekend in Donbass – Ukrainian army kills five civilians and wounds 18

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

On 11 and 12 March 2023, the Ukrainian army shelled residential areas in the Donbass region in both the DPR and LPR (Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics) with HIMARS and Smerch multiple rocket launchers and 155 mm NATO shells, killing five civilians, including an eight-year-old child and a 17-year-old teenager, and injuring 18 other civilians, including two children.

Bloody weekend in Donbass – Ukrainian army kills five civilians and wounds 18 – Donbass Insider

Related:

Ukrainian Military Does Not Stop Shedding Blood Of Innocent Civilians In Donbass

On a daily basis, dozens of Ukrainian strikes are targeting civilian facilities, private houses, and public places in cities and villages where no battles are ongoing.

The Ukrainian military is intentionally targeting the strategic civilian facilities like grain warehouses and farms in an attempt to cause famine in the recently liberated regions; as well as public transport hubs in order to disrupt communication and transportation within the towns.

Most-accurate US artillery shell Excalibur quietly added to Ukraine aid

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Most-accurate US artillery shell Excalibur quietly added to Ukraine aid

Source

The Defense Department will spend $92 million in congressionally approved supplemental funds “for procurement of replacement M982 Excalibur munitions transferred to Ukraine in support of the international effort to counter Russian aggression,” according to a budget document last month that wasn’t previously disclosed.

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“The $92 million addition to Excalibur more than doubles the program’s budget, adding about 900 projectiles in fiscal 2022, up from $56.7 million that Congress approved this fiscal year,” according to Mark Cancian, a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies who’s monitoring Ukraine-related spending.

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“This also confirms what had long been suspected, that the United States is providing this advanced weapon to Ukraine,” Cancian said. Each round currently cost from $98,700 to $106,400 in fiscal 2021 and 2022 dollars depending on the quantities purchased, according to Army budget documents.

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In addition to the previously undisclosed Excalibur, the budget documents also spell out supplies of well-known items such as conventional 155mm artillery rounds, Javelin anti-armor and Stinger anti-air missiles, the HIMARS mobile rocket system and its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, missiles. There are also smaller purchases of MK-19 grenade launchers, “precision sniper rifles” and “spotting scopes” and “replacement battery coolant units” for Stingers.

Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine + Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine

The new aid was authorized by the presidential drawdown authority, which allows Biden to send Ukraine weapons and ammunition directly from US military stockpiles. The funds were pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that Biden signed back in May, which is meant to last through September 30.

Related:

Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?

So in essence, at a pace suggested by Hertling, Ukraine’s GMLRS monthly burn rate would equal about 29% of the entire planned U.S. procurement for the next five years, not withstanding production rates of the ER GMLRS which have yet to be set.

Given those numbers, what does Ukraine’s use of HIMARS portend for that nation, and the U.S., which might find itself needing these systems in case of a future fight with China, Russia or some other adversary?

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“If each of 16 HIMARS fires three rockets per day, that’s 48 a day or 1,440 per month. 10,000 rockets would last well into 2023 at that rate. On the other hand, if the Ukrainians get the 100 HIMARS they are requesting and each one fires three rockets per day, that’s 300 per day or 9,000 per month.”