Air defense, HAWK systems, artillery, and missiles: Austin spoke on the results of the Ramstein-7

After the seventh meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the so-called Ramstein-7, it was announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be receiving additional artillery ammunition, air defense equipment, and winter equipment.

Lloyd Austin, the United States Secretary of Defense, announced this.

He assured that the meeting was very successful. During the meeting, the participants announced new contributions to the defense assistance of Ukraine.

“We have just completed the seventh meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. It was another very successful meeting,” the United States Secretary of Defense emphasized.

In particular, according to him, Sweden will be providing Ukraine with air defense equipment as part of the $287 million aid package. Spain has committed to shipping two additional HAWK systems and missiles to Ukraine.

Canada offered 500 million (presumably Canadian dollars) in additional military assistance and confirmed that it remains the leading donor of winter uniforms and equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Lloyd Austin also noted Germany’s contribution to strengthening artillery capabilities in Ukraine, along with the provision of the MARS II MLRS ammunition.

According to him, Greece also has plans to provide the Ukrainian side with additional 155mm ammunition.

Poland announced the delivery of additional artillery and tank ammunition, as well as short-range air defense systems. It was not specified which air defense systems will be transferred from the Polish side.

Previously, Poland handed Ukraine its newest Piorun man-portable air defense system (MANPADS). They were actively used by the Ukrainian military, and Russian aircraft were destroyed with their help.

Polish Piorun MANPADS is designed to combat low-flying targets. According to the Ukrainian military, the Piorun MANPADS has certain advantages over its Soviet-era Igla MANPADS.

Piorun MANPADS is a deeply modernized version of the Polish Grom missile system, which is produced by Mesko. Within this upgrade, the sensitivity of the infrared homing device was quadrupled. The man-portable air defense system has a warhead of 1.82 kg, and it is known to be able to hit targets at an altitude of up to 4000 m and a range of up to 6500 m. In June 2022, the Ministry of Defense of Poland signed a contract to purchase 3,500 missiles for this system.