Lithuania has acquired two launchers for the NASAMS air defense system and will soon transfer them to Ukraine, the country's president Gitanas Nauseda announced on June 28.
This marks the first transfer from Lithuania of the NASAMS system, which has been in service in Ukraine since late last year after been delivered by the United States to defend Ukraine's airspace.
The NASAMS system, which has a maximum range of 50 kilometers depending on the model used, is particularly valuable for Ukraine as it uses the AIM-120 AMRAAM interceptor missile, which is the same missile used in an air-to-air function in Western fighter jets.
This means that the missile is in large supply, giving Ukraine more of what it needs to continue defending its sky against Russian missiles and aircraft as the ammunition for its own Soviet-era air defense systems begins to run low.
Anastasiia Lapatina
(Updated: )
