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News from Ramstein: Air Defense top priority for Ukraine [1]

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Date: 2023-04-24  

Patriot missile system being driven by German soldiers in Poland, part of the NATO partnership in action.

Tim Martin reporting from Belfast April 21 for Breaking Defense covers the start of the 50+ military working groups meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany over continuing aid to Ukraine and other matters.

“Ukraine urgently needs our help to shield its citizens and infrastructure from Russia’s missile threat,” said US secretary of defense Lloyd Austin.

BELFAST — Today’s round of Ukraine Defense Contract Group talks held at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, will see over 50 military delegations from the US and Europe focus predominately on supporting Ukraine air defense capabilities, just a week after leaked Pentagon papers suggested Kyiv’s air defense missile stockpiles could run out in May. “Ukraine urgently needs our help to shield its citizens and infrastructure from Russia’s missile threat,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the start of the meeting. Air defenses, ammunition and “enablers” will be the three main discussion topics for the Contact Group, he added… ...The supply of air defense systems to Ukraine already includes the US, Germany and the Netherlands providing Patriot, France and Italy agreeing to send a SAMP/T-MAMBA system, and Norway and Canada gifting National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS). The leaked documents purportedly claim, however, that vast amounts of Russian made BUK and S-300 air defense munitions — the backbone of Ukraine’s air defense network — have been expended by Ukraine, leaving it potentially vulnerable to Russia securing air superiority, according to a NBC News report. Per that report, a chart from one of the leaked documents showed that supplies of BUK SA-11 missiles would be “completely depleted” by mid-April, followed by S-300 munitions and the shorter-range SA-8 both running out in May….

This is why it’s vital to supply Ukraine with the tools it needs to defend against the Russian missile and aircraft attacks, and to allow the Ukraine Air Force to operate. RO37 has an explainer on some of the ways action in the air could be carried out, especially with a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the works.

In any case, continuing to supply Ukraine with arms is critical. Again from Breaking Defense:

To date, the Contract Group has provided $55 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, $35 billion of which has been issued by the DoD. The Biden administration approved a 36th drawdown of military assistance on Wednesday, valued at $325 million. The latest military package for Kyiv includes supplies of ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds and AT-4 anti-armor weapon systems.

In other news, Task and Purpose has a report on one of Putin’s more ‘stellar’ achievements: bringing Finland to join NATO.

Just a few minutes after the ink was dry and Finland officially became the 31st member nation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a Finnish pilot was in the sky flying with the U.S. Air Force. On April 4, Finnish Air Force Capt. Sami Nisonen and U.S. Air Force Capt. Jacob Olsen, both students at the Air Force Test Pilot School, took off in a T-38 Talon twin-seat aircraft. It was just a routine mission for the course, but due to the timing, it was the first bit of military cooperation between the U.S. and Finland as official NATO partners.

Why this is a milestone:

The greatest consequence, perhaps, of Finland joining NATO is the 810-mile-long border it shares with Russia. And behind that border, as a consequence of decades of neutrality, is one of the larger militaries now aligned with NATO. The country already maintains more artillery weapons than Poland, Germany, Norway, and Sweden combined. It has received some $13.6 billion in military equipment from the U.S., including Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air (AAMRAM) and Harpoon missiles, and has agreed to purchase the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It also maintains some of the largest training areas in NATO, although it remains unclear, and quite possibly unlikely, that other NATO forces will maintain any kind of presence in the country.

The conflict in Ukraine is going to turn on logistics in the long run.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/24/2165586/-News-from-Ramstein-Air-Defense-top-priority-for-Ukraine

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