The United States has reportedly delivered anti-radar missiles to Kyiv, for use by Ukrainian planes to strike Russian radar systems, according to a Pentagon announcement.
This is the first time that the US Department of Defense has acknowledged providing a missile to Ukraine that has not been previously reported.
The United States sent "a handful" of the missiles, according to Colin Kahl, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy, who did not specify how many or when they were sent, nor did he specify what type of anti-radiation missile was sent.
However, the systems appear to be a series of high-speed, anti-radiation AGM-88 missiles (HARM) that include several types of missiles, a defense official told CNN. The N" (CNN).
What are HARM missiles?
How does it work?
According to the Military Analysis Network of the Federation of American Scientists, the HARM is a supersonic tactical air-to-surface missile designed to search for and destroy radar-equipped air defense systems.
HARM can detect, attack and destroy a target using minimal commands from the cabin crew.
The missile is automatically guided by identifying and receiving the signals emitted by the hostile ground defense systems' radar.
It also has the ability to distinguish a single target even if there is more than one signal, in other words, the missile gets its coordinates from the target and not from the flight crew.
The distinctive automatic guidance system contains a fixed antenna that picks up signals and a head in the front of the missile that acts as a detector.
With a smokeless, solid-fueled, dual-propellant rocket engine to propel the rocket.
When the antenna picks up the signals and the missile becomes in the radar field of view, the software determines the location and coordinates of the signal and purifies the information from any interference that the missile may be exposed to by artificial intelligence algorithms.
Version B has an improved guidance section that includes improved tactical software and electronically reprogrammable memory.
The Raytheon, one of the best-known variants of this missile, has a range of more than 30 miles (48 km), making it one of the long-range weapons the United States has provided to Ukraine so far.
Russian anti-aircraft radar systems, such as the S-400, have made it very difficult for the Ukrainian Air Force to fly over large parts of Ukrainian airspace, which is why Ukraine uses HARM missiles to target these systems.
Additionally, the missiles can hit Russian anti-battery radars, which Russia uses to attack Ukrainian artillery.
"In the short term, we've done a lot of things to make the current Ukrainian Air Force stay in the air and be more maneuverable," Cale said.
It is important to note that the Ukrainians have not publicly acknowledged receiving or using the HARM.
However, the remnants of what appears to be the fin of the HARM missile that was targeting a Russian position in Ukraine have been photographed and published on specialized accounts.