UK to provide 拢162 million package of air defence missiles for Ukraine as Defence Secretary meets international partners
UK to supply 650 Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) through 拢162 million contract to boost Ukraine鈥檚 air defences.
The type of missile that has been supplied to Ukraine
The UK will supply 650 Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) systems to Ukraine to boost the country鈥檚 air defence capabilities,聽as part of聽the聽new government鈥檚 commitment to Ukraine.聽
The air defence package will be announced by Defence Secretary John Healey MP today at聽the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) meeting at US Air Force Base in Ramstein 鈥� his first as Defence Secretary. At the 24th聽meeting of the group, the Defence Secretary聽will set out聽the UK鈥檚 ironclad commitment to Ukraine and聽urge聽allies to continue to supply Ukraine with vital equipment.
It comes following a bilateral meeting between John Healey and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in London earlier this week, where the pair discussed how the UK will continue to ramp-up support over the coming months. At that meeting, the Defence Secretary confirmed that 拢300 million worth of artillery ammunition, procured by the IFU, will start to be delivered by the end of this year to support Ukraine鈥檚 war effort.
In keeping with the new government鈥檚 commitment to speed up deliveries of aid, the first batch of LMM missiles announced today are also expected to be delivered by the end of this year.聽
Today鈥檚 package聽is part of the UK鈥檚 work to help step up聽UK and聽European聽defence production聽- with today鈥檚 拢162 million order helping to energise the supply chain for the future.聽聽Built by Thales at their Belfast factory, the missiles are highly versatile and can be fired from a variety of platforms on land, sea, and air.聽聽聽
The聽package is primarily funded through the UK鈥檚 拢3 billion a year financial package for Ukraine, and contributions from Norway through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) and follows the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary鈥檚 commitment to stand by Ukraine will continue for as long as it takes.聽聽聽
It comes after the Defence Secretary signed聽a new Defence Export Support Treaty with his counterpart Umerov in July, during President Zelesnkyy鈥檚 visit to Downing Street. The agreement will fire up both the UK鈥檚 and Ukraine鈥檚 defence industrial bases and increase military hardware and weaponry production. The treaty will enable Ukraine to draw on 拢3.5 billion of export finance to support its war effort.聽聽
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said:
This new commitment will give an important boost to Ukraine鈥檚 air defences and demonstrates our new government鈥檚 commitment to stepping up support for Ukraine.聽
In recent days we have seen the tragic cost of Russia鈥檚 indiscriminate strikes on Poltava and Lviv. These new UK-made missiles will support Ukraine to defend its people, infrastructure, and territory from Putin鈥檚 brutal attacks.
With our international partners today, we will show that we are united for Ukraine. And we will discuss how best we can work together to improve support. Because the security of the UK and Europe starts in Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting with international partners, the Defence Secretary visited the Joint Intelligence Coordination Centre (JICC) at the Ramstein Air Base. UK Armed Forces personnel deployed at the JICC work alongside allies to analyse intelligence.聽聽
Since Russia鈥檚 illegal invasion, the UK has provided hundreds of LMM missiles to Ukraine for air defence, destroying hundreds of Russian drones and other air threats.聽聽
Travelling at Mach 1.5 with a range of more than 6km, the LMM is highly versatile against a wide range of threats, including Armoured Personnel Carriers, fast in-shore attack craft and Unmanned drones.聽聽
This contract with Thales in the UK will further prime the world leading British defence industry to increase production rates, enabling future production to be ramped up.聽聽
Addressing allies at the UCDG, the Defence Secretary聽will reiterate聽the UK鈥檚 commitment to supporting Ukraine and ramping up the production and delivery of vital equipment.聽聽聽
A Thales spokesperson said:聽聽聽
As a strategic partner of UK Government, Thales is proud to be working with MoD to support defending democracy in Ukraine through the provision of our Lightweight Multi-role Missile, delivered from our Belfast site.聽聽
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, UK MoD and Thales have worked in close collaboration to support the Ukrainian effort by delivering key air defence systems at pace. We are pleased that this contract is the first to be signed under Task Force Hirst, which has been established to deliver a deeper defence industrial partnership between the UK and Ukraine.
Earlier this week, the Government confirmed a milestone moment in international support for Ukraine, with eight countries from across the world having now joined the UK to provide more than 拢1 billion to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), in a significant show of unity from Ukraine鈥檚 allies.
The IFU was first launched by the UK and Denmark in 2022 to provide an efficient way for countries to pool resources to buy equipment and weapons to support Ukraine鈥檚 most urgent capability needs. The UK has donated 拢500 million to the Fund to date.聽聽
This is also the first contract approved under Task Force Hirst, a MOD initiative created to ramp up defence industrial capacity and capability, laying the foundation for larger sustained supply of missiles and other key capabilities to Ukraine and, in the longer term, enable industrial cooperation between our two countries.