By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
The Pentagon is looking for cost-effectiveness and quickness as it looks for manufacturers to build a new air-to-ground missile for Ukraine.
According to an updated Air Force request for proposal released last week, the Extended –Range Attack Munition (ERAM), the goal is to develop “an affordable mass weapon to be produced at scale. The Government is seeking to prototype and adapt commercial autonomous modular open architecture vehicle that can deliver affordable long-range effects.”
The process began in January with a solicitation for an air-launched missile with a 500-pound warhead that could destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. It must have a range of at least 285 miles, a minimum speed of Mach 0.6 (460 miles per hour) and be able to navigate without a global positioning system.
The latest proposal specifically names Ukraine as the recipient.
Sixteen companies expressed interest in building the weapon after the solicitation in January. The Air Force now wants more detailed proposals. Whoever gets the contract must be able to start making the missile no later than two years from the deal’s signing. Up to 1,000 of the weapons will be produced every year.
According to the Kyiv Independent, the closest thing the Ukrainian air force has to an ERAM currently is the Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles supplied by the UK and France. The news site says those weapons “have been used incredibly effectively…most notably against the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Sept. 22.”
The latest development involving the ERAM came as the US announced a new military aid package for Ukraine valued at $225 million. It includes a Patriot missile battery and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), among other things.
Meanwhile, the US, Dutch and Danish governments – whose leaders were in Washington for the NATO 75th anniversary summit – said that F-16 fighter jets will be flying in Ukraine later this summer. Eventually, Ukraine will get more than 60 of the planes.
Ukrainian pilots and maintenance crews are being trained in the US and Europe.
Currently, Ukraine flies Soviet era planes – the MiG-29 and three Sukhoi models. The F-16s have better technology that would allow them to target Russian jets, bombs and missiles. And it’s possible that the F-16 could be armed with ERAM once that weapon is operational.
Still, a lot of that will depend on getting a sufficient number of Ukrainian pilots qualified to fly the plane. According to a Reuters report, a top Ukrainian lawmaker is expecting about 20 pilots to be up to speed on the F-16 this year.
