Pentagon is in favor of giving Ukraine longer-range ATACMS missiles — WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports this with reference to unnamed US officials.

Earlier, Pentagon officials insisted that the U.S. Armed Forces should retain all of their long-range ATACMS missiles to meet their own military needs.

However, the US defense department is now in favor of the transfer of longer-range ATACMS, as the US military is making progress in procuring the Precision Strike Missile, a new series of GPS-guided missiles that will begin replacing ATACMS missiles in 2024.

At the same time, the WSJ interlocutors did not indicate whether US President Joe Biden would approve the transfer of the longer-range ATACMS.

It should be noted that, on March 12, for the first time in three months, the United States handed over a $300 million military aid package to Ukraine. Despite media speculation that the package might include long-range ATACMS missiles, neither the United States nor Ukraine named this type of weapon in the list of aid provided.

For the first time, Ukraine officially announced that it had received the long-awaited ATACMS missiles and successfully used them in October 2023. Depending on the modification, ATACMS can hit targets at a distance of 165 to 300 kilometers. The White House noted that Ukraine received missiles that can operate within a radius of 165 kilometers.