Kyiv waited for months for the redeeming word from Washington. On Tuesday, without announcement, Ukraine suddenly launched at least three American-supplied ATACMS for the first time. “Attention, launch execution,” says a Ukrainian without embellishment radio before three American ballistic missiles arc into the sky.
The images were shared by the Ukrainian armed forces “thanks to our partners.” With US ballistic missiles, the abbreviation stands for Army Tactical Missile System, (pronounced attack ’em) one of the last requests on the Ukrainian military wish list can be crossed off.
News of the ATACMS came on the same day as reports of an attack on a Russian air base in eastern Ukraine, destroying nine attack helicopters are. Attacks were also reported on Russian military targets in the port city of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov and in Luhansk. Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed whether those attacks are indeed the latest exploits of the ATACMS.
Just as before the arrival of Himars artillery rockets, Western battle tanks and F-16s, the Ukrainian armed forces had to be patient for the delivery of ATACMS. These missiles with a range of 300 kilometers can be used for the first time to attack targets throughout the occupied territory, including Crimea.
Systematic breakdown
According to military specialists, this missile will also have no effect game changer but a weapon that could further reduce the military strength of the Russians. Furthermore, the ATACMS make the war a little less asymmetrical; Moscow now bombards Ukrainian cities with missiles, sometimes from thousands of kilometers away.
Potential targets of the ATACMS include fighter planes and helicopters at airfields far behind the front lines, as well as ammunition stockpiles and troop concentrations. With deep precision strikes on Russian command centers, troop concentrations, logistics centers, air defenses and other military infrastructure, Kyiv is attempting to systematically dismantle and weaken the Russian army in such a way that supplying it to the front becomes increasingly difficult.
After the arrival of the HIMARS, which has a range of 70 kilometers, the Russians were forced to move ammunition and weapons stores out of range of these missiles, according to analysts. This resulted in delays in Russian supplies to the front. The ATACMS may force the logistics hubs of the Russian armed forces a little further back.
Precision attacks
The attacks on Russian targets far behind the lines are crucial for Ukraine, especially now that the advance during the current counter-offensive has yielded only few territorial gains. Ukraine has to make do without air superiority and has a limited number of fighter planes that are also inferior to most Russian aircraft.
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The use of long-range missiles is therefore all the more important for the Ukrainian armed forces. But the country’s stock of cruise weapons is limited. Ideally, US missiles should partly take over the role played by the British Storm Shadows and the French Scalp cruise missiles in recent months. These weapons, launched from fighter planes, have a range of 250 kilometers. Ukraine is said to have received several hundred of these since May.
But the supply of these cruise missiles is dwindling; the French Air Force has already indicated that the end of the contribution is in sight. Paris wants to avoid having to deal with shortages itself. It is not known exactly how much Storm Shadows London can still supply, but the British stock is also limited.
HIMARS installations
In addition to the slightly longer range, the ATACMS from manufacturer Lockheed Martin have a number of advantages over the European cruise missiles. They can be fired from the HIMARS launch facilities that Ukraine already received in 2022. Launching cruise missiles from fighter planes entails more risks. Moreover, the Ukrainian air force is partly dependent on the weather conditions.
Another advantage of the American missile is its speed; ATACAMS reach their target at 250 kilometers in five minutes; Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles take about fifteen minutes. This makes the American missile ideally suited for opportunities that only arise for a short time, such as military equipment that can be moved quickly.
But also with ATACMS the question is whether Ukraine will receive enough missiles to hit so many Russian targets that it will actually influence the course of the war. said defense analyst Jack Watling of the British think tank RUSI recently. He also underlined that such weapons are not allowed silver bullet (panacea) in this war. The Wall Street Journal now reports that in the first delivery only a small amount rockets go.
German Taurus rocket
Another important consequence of the American decision to provide Ukraine with ATACMS could be the attitude of the German government. Berlin has Taurus missiles that can hit targets at even greater distances, around five hundred kilometers, but although the German government seemed close to a positive decision in August, the country has so far declined to deliver them to Ukraine. This hesitant attitude is said to have been mainly motivated by the risks of escalation of the Russian war against Ukraine. Previously, Berlin waited months before authorizing the sending of Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. After Washington gave the green light for the delivery of its own Abrams tanks at the beginning of this year, the German government also withdrew its reservations about the Leopards.
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Introduction of the Taurus could have an even greater impact on the battlefield than the ATACMS, according to some military analysts. The Taurus is according to the German Bundeswehr able to penetrate several layers of concrete, such as bunkers, before detonating the explosives.
This means that the missile could, for example, be used to attack bridges, according to Canadian defense analyst Colby Badhwar recently in the podcast Geopolitics Decanted. “The missile can pierce through the road surface and then detonate near one of the pillars of the bridge. That makes the Taurus one of the best possible weapons against, for example, the Crimean Bridge.” But according to the German newspaper Image a potential attack with German missiles on that bridge is actually a cause for concern for the German government when it comes to supplying the Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz mentioned Thursday constitutional limitations and “risk of escalation” as reasons not to send cruise missiles.
With the collaboration of Simone Peek