The potential deployment of Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) ballistic missiles with a range of up to 300 km to Ukraine by the United States could pose significant problems for Russia, according to American newspaper The Drive columnists Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway. In their article, they highlight that these new missiles could be used by Kiev to strike Russian airfields, air defense systems, bridges, military depots, and command centers.
The journalists estimate that the extended range of ATACMS allows for targeting beyond the front lines, while the cassette payload increases the strike area, and the hypersonic speed makes interception by air defense systems more challenging. They note that while the “Harpoon” hits its target at subsonic speed, ATACMS operates at speeds approaching hypersonic levels.
Previously, Mikhail Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, stated that the expected transfer of Western long-range ATACMS and Taurus missiles to the Ukrainian army would not compensate for Russia’s quantitative advantage in weaponry.
Furthermore, the United States has recently announced that there is no rush in delivering tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
