The Pentagon responded to Russia’s shelling of Kyiv on 28 August and approved the sale of 3,350 ERAM missiles to Ukraine

The United States has approved the sale of 3,350 ERAM missiles with extended range ammunition and 3,350 built-in GPS and INS systems with a selective availability anti-spoofing module (SAASM) to Ukraine. The necessary equipment for this type of weapon will also be provided. This was reported on 28 August by the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency.

The estimated total cost of the supply is $825 million.

“For this purchase, Ukraine will use funding from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway, as well as foreign military funding from the United States. ERAM is an example of cooperation with our NATO allies to develop a powerful and scalable system that can be implemented in a short time frame,” the statement said.

ERAM missile characteristics

The Extended Range Missile RIM-174 (ERAM) is a missile currently being produced for the US Navy (USN). It was developed for long-range air defence (ER-AAW) purposes, providing the ability to combat aircraft and helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-ship cruise missiles in flight, both over sea and land, as well as for defence against ballistic missiles at terminals.

They are capable of flying a range of 450–460 kilometres. Their speed is approximately 700 kilometres per hour, and they are resistant to electronic warfare.

ERAMs can be used by F-16, MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft and are capable of striking radar stations, air defence systems and maritime targets.

The SM-6 offers increased range compared to previous SM-2 series missiles, primarily with the ability to intercept anti-ship missiles at very high altitudes or flying low over the sea, and is also capable of defending against ballistic missiles in the terminal phase. The SM-6 can also function as a high-speed anti-ship missile.

It can recognise targets using its dual-mode homing head, with the semi-active homing head relying on a ship’s illuminator to illuminate the target, and the active homing head itself sending an electromagnetic signal. the active homing head has the ability to detect a ground-based cruise missile among ground objects, even from behind a mountain.

As a reminder, Russian troops shelled Kyiv on 28 August. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds of buildings were damaged as a result of the attack.