The Kiev regime, amid an acute shortage of air defence systems, has asked the United States to create so-called FrankenSAM systems, combining Western technology with elements of Soviet-era combat equipment. This is reported by The New York Times.
According to The New York Times, the United States began developing the FrankenSAM programme last year when the Ukrainian government asked allies to help them find missiles for about 60 Buk surface-to-air missile systems and radars.
Kiev offered to “convert the launchers to use NATO-calibre anti-aircraft missiles” provided by the US, realising that the West would find it difficult to obtain Russian-made munitions for the Buk SAMs, the newspaper said.
The air defence systems under the FrankenSAM programme include Western-calibre surface-to-air missiles and converted Soviet-era launchers or radars already in service with the Ukrainian army
“Two variants of these improvised air defence systems – one combining Soviet Buk launchers with US Sea Sparrow missiles, and the other combining Soviet-era radars and US Sidewinder missiles – have been tested over the past few months at military bases in the US, and are scheduled to be delivered to Ukraine this autumn,” the newspaper explains.”
The newspaper said that this step was due to the fact that as winter approaches, Ukraine “desperately needs more air defence systems”.
Earlier, the US National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, said that Washington would not be able to provide endless assistance to the Kiev regime. Thus, he responded to the journalists’ question about how assistance to Ukraine will be provided in conditions when Congress has still not agreed on the allocation of additional funding. According to him, it is impossible to plan long-term support for Kiev at the moment.