The Pentagon has sent its most accurate GPS-guided Excalibur artillery projectiles to Ukraine, something that was not previously announced.
This was reported by the Bloomberg agency with reference to the budget documents at his disposal.
In the plan to replenish the American stockpile of Excalibur projectiles, the Pentagon admits for the first time that it supplied this projectile to the Armed Forces. Officials avoided questions about the Excalibur, despite reports that it was planned to be delivered, and later that it was already in use in Ukraine.
The satellite-guided weapon, which can hit a target within a radius of two meters, was first used in Iraq in 2007 during the high-profile assassination of al-Qaeda leader Abu Jur and his associates.
The Defense Department will spend $92 million in additional funds approved by Congress "to procure M982 Excalibur munitions provided to Ukraine in support of international efforts to counter Russian aggression," a previously undisclosed budget document said last month.
The projectile is used in 155 mm howitzers and was jointly developed by Raytheon Missiles and Defense and BAE Systems Bofor. Excalibur with precision guidance allows commanders on the battlefield to target targets more precisely. According to the documents, it has a range of 40.5 km.
Excalibur will be mentioned in documents explaining how the Pentagon is spending some of the $20.1 billion in the "Ukraine Supplement" signed by President Joe Biden in May.
According to Mark Kancian, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "the $92 million allocation for Excalibur more than doubles the program's budget, adding about 900 missiles in fiscal year 2022," compared to the $56.7 million Congress approved this fiscal year. . According to Army budget documents, $56.7 million has gone toward the purchase of 374 sophisticated, jam-resistant GPS projectiles.
"It also confirms what has been suspected for a long time - that the United States is providing these advanced weapons to Ukraine," Kanchian said.
