The US State Department has notified Congress of its readiness to authorize the transfer to Ukraine of a large batch of American-made weapons currently in Turkey's possession. The department said the delivery aligns with US security assistance objectives.
According to documents published by the State Department, the package includes 12 M270 MLRS launchers, 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 2,524 unguided 227-mm M26 rockets with cluster warheads, and 47,000 M509A1 203-mm cluster artillery shells. The total value of the delivery is estimated at approximately $28 million.
Because the weapons are manufactured in the US, Turkey can transfer them to a third country only with Washington's official consent. Congress now has 15 days to review the notification: if both chambers fail to pass a joint resolution blocking the deal within that time, it will be approved automatically. The House of Representatives is on recess until August 31, and the Senate until September 14.
As the Ukrainian portal Militarnyi reports, the M39 ATACMS are an early modification of the system with a range of up to 165 kilometers. They are equipped with an autonomous inertial guidance system and a cluster warhead containing 950 submunitions designed to target personnel, unarmored vehicles, and air defense systems.
The State Department documents state that for Turkey, the transfer will allow it to reduce stocks of aging systems and free up funds for modernization. Turkish, Bulgarian, and American defense companies are listed as intermediaries in the deal.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country would receive Patriot air defense missiles from the US monthly, but that these supplies are insufficient to protect against ballistic attacks. On August 1, he said Ukraine had run out of air defense missiles.