U.S. General Mark Milley: Ukraine Needs Integrated Anti-Missile Defense System

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested that the U.S. and its allies assist Ukraine in developing an integrated air and missile defense system at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Oct. 12, according to CNN, which is exactly what the Ukrainian government is currently requesting.

Allies should participate in this process, he said, as they have the necessary weapons. Milley claims that, although not a simple task, it is quite attainable.

Milley unveiled a plan in which various air defense systems, including those owned by Germany and Israel, should be transferred to Ukraine. The Ukrainian airspace can then be protected by combining multiple systems into one larger system.

“The task will be to bring those together, get them deployed, get them trained, ‘cause each of these systems is different, make sure they can link together with a command and control and communication systems and make sure they have radars that can talk to each other so they can acquire targets on the inbound flights,” argued the general.

The improved Hawkeye and the 1960s-era MIM-24 HAWK air defense system were mentioned by journalist Ostap Yarysh of Voice of America.

“Thatʼs a medium-altitude, medium-range system. Itʼs an older system, but itʼs quite effective,” Yarysh cited the general’s words.

Milley stated that while the integrated anti-missile defense system won’t have complete control over Ukrainian airspace, it will reliably protect important targets.

Other Topics of Interest

Russia Strikes Ukraine With Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Air Force Reports

If this information is confirmed, it would be the first time such a weapon had been used since Russia invaded in February 2022.

According to credible sources, the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine will meet in Brussels Oct. 13 with defense of NATO member countries where the development of Ukraine’s air defense forces will be the main subject of the review.

According to the German ministry of defense Ukraine will receive more MARS II and PzH 2000 self-propelled weapons,. Ukraine will also receive additional anti-aircraft missiles from the Netherlands worth 15 million euros.

A new $47 million aid package from Canada is earmarked for Ukraine and includes 500,000 units of winter military clothing, artillery shells, and satellite communication gear.