In response to an urgent request from Ukraine to strengthen its air defence, the Lithuanian government has acquired two launchers for the NASAMS anti-aircraft missile system.
"In response to an urgent request from Ukraine for assistance to strengthen its air defence system, we have acquired two launchers of the NASAMS medium-range anti-aircraft missile for the Ukrainian military," the Defence Ministry said.
According to the report, the Lithuanian government is also organizing the delivery of these systems. It is expected that, the transfer of launchers to the territory of Ukraine will take place within the next three months. This will allow the Ukrainian side to integrate new equipment into the existing air defence system in time.
Additional launchers are supposed to be included in the system of NASAMS complexes, already deployed on the territory of Ukraine. This measure will increase the maximum number of missiles ready for launching, which is an important prerequisite for the effective defence of the country against the possibility of massive missile attacks.
It will be recalled that the NASAMS anti-aircraft missile system, developed by Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace (Norway) and Raytheon (USA), is designed to protect against modern air threats at medium and high altitudes.
Designed to operate at short to medium ranges, NASAMS can engage and neutralize various air threats, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, cruise missiles and fighter aircraft.
A complete NASAMS air defense system consists of multiple components: a fire distribution center, radar, electro-optical sensor, launcher, and radar command and control nodes.
NASAMS systems are operated by five NATO members: Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.
In the Middle East, Oman and Qatar are among the countries that operate this air defence system, according to Forecast International. In addition, Australia, Chile, Finland and Indonesia have also adopted the NASAMS system in their defence capabilities.
It was reported that, Poland has started negotiations with Ukraine for possible transfer of a long-range ground-based missile system, which for the first time can be provided to Ukraine. This information came to light from a number of official sources, although the specific details of the proposal have not yet been revealed.
According to the available information, we are talking about sea-attack missiles that can hit both sea and land targets at a distance of up to 250 km. This, of course, will be a major boost to Ukraine's defence, as in the absence of warplanes, ground-based systems have much wider capabilities.
The exact number of missile launchers and missiles that will be transferred to Ukraine is still unknown, but given the stocks of these weapons in Poland, we can talk about a hundred missiles, which, given the range of the latter, pose a threat to the Black Sea and Crimean Fleet ships.
Switzerland remains committed to maintaining its neutral status and has refused to re-export Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. In particular, 96 Leopard 1A5 tanks owned by the Swiss company Ruag AG are currently being kept in Italy.
It should be noted that, at the moment, only one body of the Swiss parliament, the Council of States, has granted permission for re-export of arms. However, it does not mean that the authorisation has been finalised. Both chambers of the Swiss parliament have equal powers. In addition to the decision of the Council of States, a similar decision must also be taken by the National Council, which previously voted down another but essentially similar draft law unofficially referred to as Lex Ukraine.
