US will not provide Ukraine with ATACMS, but is looking at other options, top US general says

US will not provide Ukraine with ATACMS, but is looking at other options, top US general says
# 01 April 2023 02:47 (UTC +04:00)

The US is not providing Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, but is instead looking at other options to give the Ukrainian military a longer reach on the battlefield, according to Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley, APA reports citing CNN.

The top US general said the US has “relatively few” ATACMS, and the military has to maintain its own levels of critical weapons in its inventories. But the military is considering other possibilities, Milley said in an interview with Defense One on Friday.

“The range of the ATACMS is longer, but there’s other systems that can get to that range,” Milley said. “There’s UAVs, for example, that could do it. The Brits have a couple systems. So those are some things we’re looking at to give them a little bit more legs.”

“Right now, we’re not providing the ATACMS,” Milley said.

He noted it’s a policy decision, and he would not take anything on or off the table for the future.

The ATACMS missile has a range of approximately 200 miles, far greater than any system the US has provided to Ukraine so far.

In terms of weapons inventory, the US is also reviewing its estimates for how much munitions the military would need in a great power war after seeing how quickly Ukrainians are using up munitions, Milley said. The US currently has “sufficient ammunition in our inventory today to do what we need to do,” he said, but the defense industrial base will be working to expand its capacity over several years.

“[I]f you're involved in a significant great power war,” Milley said, “it's best not to underestimate how much munitions you're going to need.”

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