The State Department approved Ukraine’s request to purchase GPS-guided bomb kits for a value of up to 374 million dollars, according to an announcement made on Tuesday.
The approval will allow Ukraine to acquire long-range variants of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) from Boeing Co., as well as related equipment. Kyiv could purchase up to 1,200 KMU-572 JDAM tail kits and 332 KMU-556 JDAM tail kits, along with fuses, spare parts, and other support equipment, the State Department reported.
Kits can be attached to unguided bombs ranging from 500 to 2,000 pounds to convert them into GPS-guided munitions, capable of hitting targets at about 72 kilometers away.The figures published on Tuesday represent the potential maximum value and quantities of the sale, which is subject to Congressional review and negotiations between the client and the contractor.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reported that the Pentagon released $400 million in aid for Ukraine (Reuters) The State Department noted that the purchase of these weapons by Ukraine will support U.S. national security interests and “improve Ukraine’s ability to face current and future threats, by further equipping it to carry out self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust air defense capability.” The possible acquisition is aligned with the Trump administration’s preferred approach to arming Ukraine, in which Kyiv or other European governments acquire US-made weapons rather than relying on funds provided by American taxpayers. The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, informed the House Armed Services Committee on April 29 that the Pentagon had released 400 million dollars in aid to Ukraine the day before. Senator Mitch McConnell, who chairs his chamber’s defense appropriations committee, publicly criticized the administration for withholding funds allocated by Congress. Senator Mitch McConnell publicly criticized the administration for delaying the delivery of funds allocated to Ukraine (Reuters) Jules Hurst, acting comptroller of the Department of Defense, stated in the same hearing that the funds had not yet been awarded by contract. The State Department’s announcement did not indicate that U.S. funds would be used to cover the purchase.
