As the allies gathered at the Ramstein Air Base for the 24th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in person to lobby for faster deliveries of air defenses and long-range weapons.
Despite new aid pledges, the result has been rather lackluster. Kyiv has been promised at least one "vintage" air defense system, along with missiles, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, and other munitions.
The much-coveted long-range weapons like additional ATACMS or Storm Shadow were not on the menu, nor were changes to restrictions on their use – at least publicly.
While the new weaponry promised by the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain, the U.K., and the Netherlands is an undeniable boon to Ukraine's Armed Forces, this week's pledges do not compare to some of the earlier summits, which saw pledges worth dozens of billions of dollars.
We are presenting an overview of the key weapons systems pledged to Ukraine during the Sept. 6 summit.
America's 'evergreens' – Bradleys, HIMARS missiles, shells, and more
Washington's newly pledged defense aid tranche worth $250 million includes well-known but sorely needed articles, largely mimicking earlier packages.
The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a ship-borne short-range anti-air missile that has been repurposed for ground-based platforms in Ukraine's possession, namely Soviet-era Buk-M1 systems.
In service with the U.S. military since the 1960s, this naval offshoot of the AIM-7 Sparrow missile has been supplied to Ukraine since last year, repurposed to fill up Kyiv's dwindling air defense supplies.
The new package further included armored vehicles, specifically Bradley IFVs, which Ukrainian crews praised as life-savers on the battlefield.
The Bradleys serve primarily to transport and protect infantry but are also capable weapons platforms. Their armament includes a 25 mm M242 chain gun and TOW missile launchers.
Famously, a Ukrainian-operated Bradley even defeated a Russian T-90M "Breakthrough" tank – lauded by the Kremlin as the best tank in Russia's arsenal – in an engagement in winter.
Ukraine is further receiving NATO-standard 155 mm and 105 mm rounds. Artillery shell shortages were one of the key reasons for Kyiv's battleground losses in early 2024.
Ammunition for HIMARS launchers, Stingers, TOW missiles, and other aid were also included.
Germany's PzH howitzers and veteran tanks
As the U.S. pledged new artillery shells, Germany promised whole new systems, specifically 12 Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 self-propelled guns. Altogether valued at 150 million euros ($165 million), they are to be provided by the German industry.
The first half of the batch is expected to arrive in early 2024, while the rest is scheduled for next year.
This weapon system, developed by KMW and Rheinmetall in the 1980s and 1990s, fires 155 mm artillery shells – the new bread-and-butter of Ukrainian artillerymen – at a range of over 30 kilometers (20 miles) with conventional rounds, and even more with extended-range projectiles.
Thanks to its tracked chassis, it boasts high maneuverability and can sustain a continuous fire rate of 10 rounds per minute for two minutes, making it ideal for shoot-and-scoot tactics.
Ukraine already operates at least 28 of these guns, which were supplied by Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. In early 2024, Berlin ordered another 18 PzHs for Ukraine.
In the first year of the full-scale war, Germany and Ukraine were discussing a contract to purchase 100 PzHs at once, a deal that would make Kyiv the second-largest user of this platform.
But the deal was never finalized. Possible reasons why the contract fell through were technical and maintenance issues the howitzers suffered after intensive use when compared to their counterparts like the Polish Krab or the French CAESAR.
Together with the Netherlands and Denmark, Berlin also pledged to deliver 77 Leopard 1A5 tanks as soon as possible. These older models with a 105 mm gun do not match up to their modern successors, the Leopard 2, but their numbers still help to at least decrease Russia's material battlefield advantage.
Fifthy-eight Leopard 1A5 tanks have been delivered to Ukraine as of August 2024 by Germany and Denmark.
The Leopard 1A5's advantages include maneuverability and accuracy, though they have weaker armor and guns than their Soviet peers like the T-72. Their age also presents an additional challenge, as Ukraine has reportedly refused to accept some of them in the past due to their poor condition.
Canada's pile of rocket motors, with 1,000 warheads on top
Canada also announced a new defense aid package, including 80,840 motors of decommissioned small air-to-surface unguided CRV7 rockets and 1,300 warheads. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said the supplies will be delivered in the coming months.
The announcement came after prolonged pressure on the government to supply Ukraine with over 83,000 of these rockets that were already not being used by the Canadian military and were scheduled for demolition.
Introduced in the 1970s, the CRV7 can be used by both helicopters and fixed-winged aircraft and remains one of the most powerful weapons of its class to this day. Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR), said in February that Ukrainian helicopters and ground launchers could use them to target Russian tanks and artillery.
Complications arose when the Canadian Defense Ministry's inspections discovered that only the CRV7 motors were in good enough condition to be donated in most cases. The donation of the first 2,300 motors was announced in June.
"In response to a specific request from Ukraine," Canada also agreed to "donate decommissioned chassis from 29 M113s and 64 Coyote LAVs" previously used by the Canadian military.
The M113 armored personnel carrier is a veteran U.S.-made vehicle that has seen action as far back as the Vietnam War and is widely used by Ukraine. The Coyote armored car is a somewhat newer model, used by the Canadian Armed Forces primarily in light reconnaissance roles.
British missiles boosting Ukraine's air defenses
Shortly before the Ramstein summit began, the U.K. announced it would provide Ukraine with 650 Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) air defense projectiles worth over $213 million by the end of this year.
The LMM are versatile guided missiles that can be launched from platforms on land, sea, or air. They are manufactured by Thales in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The missiles weigh only 13 kilograms and have a range of 6 kilometers, with a special feature of a two-channel guided system using both laser beam and infrared guidance.
According to the weapon's manufacturer, the LMM is suitable against targets such as "static installations, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), asymmetric threats, fast in-shore attack craft, and UAVs."
A Hawk anti-aircraft system from Spain
Spain's contribution comprises an additional HAWK battery – including six launchers – that will be sent to Ukraine immediately. Madrid announced the delivery already back in July, promising to supply the system by September.
Developed in the late 1950s in the U.S., the Hawk is a medium-range surface-to-air guided missile system that provides air defense coverage against low-to-medium-altitude aircraft.
Spain provided Ukraine with the first battery of six Hawk launchers in the fall of 2022 and has since sent additional firing units. The U.S. provided the necessary equipment and recently pledged to supply new Hawk missiles.
While a far cry from the more advanced systems like the Patriots, Hawks have nevertheless received praise from Ukrainian soldiers. They have been employed not only against Russian cruise missiles but also Shahed-type drones, even though the systems were not originally designed against the latter.
Dutch supplies for the F-16s
Dutch assistance focused on reinforcing Ukraine's F-16 capabilities. As one of the few countries that has pledged – and likely delivered – F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the Netherlands pledged additional air-to-air missiles, maintenance equipment, and other materials.
"The Netherlands will supply 80 million euros ($90 million) worth of materials. Besides large quantities of spare parts, these include generators, small vehicles, essential maintenance materials, specialized tools, and stairs," Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.
"With the air-to-air missiles, Ukraine can take down enemy aircraft."
The country did not reveal the exact type of missiles or the timeframe for their delivery for security purposes. The air-to-air weaponry that the handful of Ukraine's F-16s employ seems to include short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and beyond-visual-range AIM-120 AMRAAMs.
The fourth-generation fighter jets have already been deployed in air defense missions, namely in intercepting Russian mass aerial attacks. One F-16 has crashed during such deployment.
Chris York
