US sending Soviet air defence systems it secretly acquired

The Pentagon over the years acquired the equipment as part of a clandestine program, and now such weapons are going to Ukraine.

The Soviet-era equipment is decades old and was obtained by the U.S. so it could examine the technology used by the Russian military. Picture: US Air force

The US is sending some of the ­Soviet-made air defence equipment it secretly acquired decades ago to bolster the Ukrainian military as it seeks to fend off Russian air and missile attacks.

The systems, which one US ­official said include the SA-8, are decades old and were obtained by the US so it could examine the technology used by the Russian military and which Moscow has exported around the world.

The weapons are familiar to Ukraine’s military, which ­inherited this type of equipment following the break-up of the ­Soviet Union.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the US decision to reach into its little-known arsenal of Soviet weapons, which comes as the Biden administration is mounting a major push to expand Ukraine’s air defence capabilities.

The US over the decades has acquired a small number of Soviet missile defence systems so they could be examined by intelligence experts and help with training American forces.

The secretive efforts received public attention in 1994 when a Soviet-made transport plane was observed at the airport at Huntsville, Alabama. It was later disclosed the plane was carrying an S-300 air defence system the US had acquired in Belarus as part of a clandestine project involving a Pentagon contractor that cost $US100m, according to a former official involved in the mission.

The S-300 – called the SA-10 by NATO – is a long-range, ­advanced air defence system ­intended to protect large areas over a much wider radius. The SA-8 is a short-range, tactical air defence system designed to move with ground forces and provide cover from aircraft and helicopters. While the SA-8 has a shorter range, it is highly mobile and ­potentially easier to hide.

Some of the Soviet-style weapons have been kept at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, which its website notes serves as “the army’s centre for missile and ­rocket programs”. At least some of what the US sent was from that base, said officials, who added that C-17 Globemaster transports ­recently flew to a nearby airfield at Huntsville. The S-300 from Belarus was not among the systems being sent to Ukraine, one US ­official said.

A volunteer takes position at a checkpoint in a district of Kyiv. Picture: AFP

The annual government spending bill passed by congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden includes language that authorises the administration to transfer to the Ukrainian military and to NATO partners aircraft, ammunition, vehicles and other equipment that is either already overseas or in existing stockpiles.

Staffers with Republican senator Joni Ernst, who advocated for the language, said Soviet-era air defence systems would be covered by the new legislation. Congress was notified about the decision.

Ukraine already possesses some Russian air defence systems, including the S-300. It needs more such systems, however, that can operate at medium and long range to blunt Russia’s aircraft and missile attacks. The shoulder-fired Stinger missiles the US and NATO nations are providing to Ukraine are only effective against helicopters and low-flying aircraft.

The US is hoping the provision of additional air defences will enable Ukraine to create a de facto no-fly zone, since the US and its NATO allies have rebuffed Ukraine’s appeals for the alliance to establish one. Such a step, Biden administration officials have said, could lead to a direct confrontation between the US-led ­alliance and Russian forces, which it is determined to avoid.

Mr Biden is travelling to Brussels this week for a NATO summit. Vice-President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also have visited the eastern bloc to discuss ways to bolster Ukraine’s defensive weapons.

“We are continuing to work with our allies and key partners to surge new assistance, including Soviet- or Russian-origin anti-aircraft systems and the necessary ammunition to employ them, every day to Ukraine,” a US official said.

Mr Austin last week visited Slovakia, which said it was willing to provide its Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft system to Ukraine but only on the condition it received a substitute to avoid an alliance security gap.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said on Sunday the US-made ­Patriot air defence system was on its way to Slovakia, paving the path for the dispatch of its S-300 to Ukraine. On Friday, The Netherlands said it would deploy a ­Patriot battery to the Sliac military base in central Slovakia, and Germany confirmed it would send two more batteries to the country.

The Wall Street Journal