US army signs $624m deal to replenish Stingers stock sent to Ukraine amid Russian invasion

The Pentagon or United States Defence Department awarded its top defence contractor with a $624 million contract to restock Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which is also one of the key systems that Washington has provided Ukraine amid its war with Russia. According to CNN, the Pentagon announced the contract to Raytheon on Friday even though it was officially awarded on Wednesday. Without any timeline listed for completion of the work, the contract is reportedly “for the procurement of Stinger missiles and associated equipment”. 

Notably, the US has already sent over 1,400 Stinger systems, including missiles and launchers to Ukraine to resist the Russian army’s attempts to conquer Ukrainian skies. Stingers are short-range anti-aircraft missiles with a range of about three miles or nearly 5 kilometres. 

Even though the range of the Stinger missiles is too short to allow them to target high-flight aircraft, they can effectively shoot down drones and low-flying aircraft and helicopters. As per the report, the US has little use for these missiles but they have been put to great use by the Ukrainian army which is fighting against Russia for at least 94 days. 

While announcing the US Department of Defence’s contract, Raytheon Technologies said in a statement on Friday that the $624 million “contract includes provisions for engineering support, as well as the test equipment and support needed to address obsolescence, modernize key components, and accelerate production.” It further explained that the contract is being funded from the Ukraine Supplemental which contains emergency funding to support Ukrainian defence forces. 

Stinger and Javelin demands in Ukraine

Pentagon’s contract to replenish its own Stinger missiles came in the backdrop of increasing demands by Ukraine for both Stingers and Javelins. Since Russia announced its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, the US has sent over 5,500 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kyiv along with other defence aid. Just this month, US Congress passed a $40 billion spending package for Ukraine that authorises US President Joe Biden’s administration to send another $11 billion in military equipment to Ukraine. The package also includes the $8.7 billion already sent to backfill stocks.  

Image: AP