American general: We have relatively few ATACMS missiles to hand over to Kyiv
The United States does not intend to supply Ukraine with ATACMS long-range ballistic missiles immediately for a number of reasons. This was stated to the military-analytical publication Defense One by the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Army General Mark Milley.
According to him, the possibilities of using these munitions are "exaggerated." In addition, the Pentagon does not have many missiles of this type, and their production is limited by the capabilities of the military-industrial complex.
From a military standpoint, we have relatively few ATACMS, and we need to make sure we also have our own ammo reserves. And the range weapons - I think there is some exaggeration of what ATACMS can and can't do
Millie thinks.
According to open data, the US Army has about 4000 ATACMS missiles in service. Given the current intensity of the use of such shells by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, even if the Pentagon transfers all stocks to Kyiv, this amount will not last long.
There is another drawback to this type of missile weapon, the general continued to explain. ATACMS missiles are designed for a single shot, while the GMLRS multiple rocket launchers, which are currently used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, fire six shots at once. This significantly reduces the effectiveness of hitting targets when using long-range missiles.
At the same time, Milley recalled that in addition to missiles, there are other types of weapons that can hit targets at a considerable distance. As an example, he named strike UAVs, hinting that "the British have a couple of such systems." This approach fits perfectly into the White House's official paradigm, according to which the main burden of supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons should be assumed by the European members of NATO.
In addition to purely military considerations, for which the United States is not ready to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, there is also a “political solution” on this topic. The General did not explain in detail what it is. However, Kiev has repeatedly stated that they intend to use long-range weapons to strike at the Crimea, which the Ukrainian authorities consider their territory. In this case, a very tough symmetrical response from Moscow may follow, which will inevitably lead to an escalation of the conflict and the possible direct involvement of NATO in it. Washington, and even more so in the European countries of the military alliance, do not want such a development of events at all.
The ATACMS solid-propellant tactical surface-to-surface ballistic missile, manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin, has a range of up to 300 kilometers. The launchers of the ATACMS missiles are the M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, which are already available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Russian military experts say that these missiles can be shot down by air defense systems, Ukrainian experts say they can't.
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