The Biden administration disclosed in late May that it would share the U.S. Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System with Ukraine. HIMARS, as it is usually called, is a super-accurate, highly survivable and reliable weapon with over twice the range of most conventional howitzers. It will greatly enhance the ability of Ukrainian forces to strike Russian tactical targets such as artillery emplacements, supply depots and the like. Ukraine has already begun using it to destroy Russian command centers previously beyond the reach of friendly artillery. HIMARS will help turn the tide of battle against Russian invaders later this summer, but that would happen a lot faster if Ukraine received more than the eight units to which the Biden administration has committed. Each HIMARS launcher in the configuration Ukraine is receiving can carry six missiles with 200-pound warheads, but Kyiv really needs hundreds of missiles and dozens of launchers. Sending them now might help to convince Vladimir Putin that the longer he persists in his disastrous invasion of Ukraine, the worse off Russian forces will be. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.
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