Ukraine likely received fewer than 50 US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US – though how many are left is a more nuanced question.
Kyiv and Washington never confirmed the official number of missiles transferred. In addition, to date, there are only two known deliveries – one in late 2023 with the older short-range versions (up to 160 km, or 100 miles) and one secretly delivered in March this year with longer-range versions (up to 300 km, or 190 miles).
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It is also unclear how many Ukraine has already used.
Thus, the list of targets Kyiv could strike inside Russia with US President Joe Biden’s latest approval on Sunday is likely to be extremely limited without fresh supplies, considering Kyiv can only use the longer-range versions to conduct deep strikes inside Russia.
How many ATACMS did Ukraine receive?
Ukraine likely received fewer than a dozen older ATACMS in the first tranche in 2023 and what US officials called a “significant” number of longer-range versions in a $300 million aid package first announced in February, as per AP News.
At the time, the package is believed to have included Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition for the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery shells.
It also included 84 anti-tank systems, small arms munitions and spare parts for equipment and other auxiliary equipment, according to reports at the time.
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Considering longer-range ATACMS costs more than $1 million per unit based on a contract concluded between the US and the manufacturer Lockheed Martin, Kyiv Post posits that Ukraine received no more than a few dozen ATACMS in the $300 million package, likely fewer.
How many ATACMS did Kyiv use?
One could speculate how many ATACMS Ukraine already used after it received the longer-range versions in March based on the recorded strikes.
- In early October, it struck a Russian “Nebo-M” radar station. Location unspecified.
- In July, ATACMS might have been used to strike the Saki military air base in occupied Crimea.
- On July 16, four M39 ATACMS with cluster warheads struck a Russian S-300 missile launcher near occupied Mariupol.
- In late June, ATACMS with cluster warheads might have been used to strike a Russian S-500 anti-missile complex
- In late May, another probable ATACMS strike on an airbase took place near occupied Luhansk
- Another probable ATACMS strike on the Belbek Airbase in occupied Crimea in May
- In April, another probable ATACMS strike across occupied Crimea
Of note is that ATACMS usage in some of the attacks remains unconfirmed, and some were likely the earlier versions supplied in 2023. Ukraine also tends to fire ATACMS at least 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front to keep them safe from Russian attacks.
To date, the only known strike using the longer-range ATACMS is the April 17 strike on the Dzhankoi airfield in occupied Crimea – which is technically within range of the older ATACMS, but the aforementioned safe distance meant the longer-range version was used.
Since multiple ATACMS missiles are used on any given strike by Ukraine for maximum effect, it’s likely that there would be a limited number of longer-range ATACMS left if there were less than a few dozen to begin with.
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