Ministry Of Defence
The UK will supply 650 Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) systems to Ukraine to boost the countrys air defence capabilities,as part ofthenew governments commitment to Ukraine.
The air defence package will be announced by Defence Secretary John Healey MP today atthe Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) meeting at US Air Force Base in Ramstein his first as Defence Secretary. At the 24thmeeting of the group, the Defence Secretarywill set outthe UKs ironclad commitment to Ukraine andurgeallies 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 300 million worth of artillery ammunition will start to be delivered by the end of this year to support Ukraines war effort.
In keeping with the new governments 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.
Todays packageis part of the UKs work to help step upUK andEuropeandefence production- with todays 162 million order helping to energise the supply chain for the future.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.
Thepackage is primarily funded through the UKs 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 Secretarys commitment to stand by Ukraine will continue for as long as it takes.
It comes after the Defence Secretary signeda new Defence Export Support Treaty with his counterpart Umerov in July, during President Zelesnkyys visit to Downing Street. The agreement will fire up both the UKs and Ukraines defence industrial bases and increase military hardware and weaponry production. The treaty will enable Ukraine to draw on 3.5 billion of export finance to support its war effort.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said:
This new commitment will give an important boost to Ukraines air defences and demonstrates our new governments commitment to stepping up support for Ukraine.
In recent days we have seen the tragic cost of Russias indiscriminate strikes on Poltava and Lviv. These new UK-made missiles will support Ukraine to defend its people, infrastructure, and territory from Putins 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.
Since Russias illegal invasion, the UK has provided hundreds of LMM missiles to Ukraine for air defence, destroying hundreds of Russian drones and other air threats.
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.
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.
Addressing allies at the UCDG, the Defence Secretarywill reiteratethe UKs commitment to supporting Ukraine and ramping up the production and delivery of vital equipment.
A Thales spokesperson said:
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.
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 1 billion to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), in a significant show of unity from Ukraines 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 Ukraines most urgent capability needs. The UK has donated 500 million to the Fund to date.
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