These are the ATACMS that Zelenski will already be able to launch against Russian territory.

During his entire term of office the President of the United States, Joe Bidenhas done for to prevent Ukraine from firing long-range missiles on Russian territory. supplied by his country. Now, as his days in the Oval Office come to an end, the Democrat has changed his mind and, for the first time, has authorized (with limitations) the use of these missiles. for the Ukrainian Army to attack Russian soil.

This is what they published this Sunday The New York Times y The Washington Post, citing sources in the White House. They claim that it is likely that these weapons are likely to be used initially against Russian and North Korean troops. in defense of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of western Russia.

These long-range missiles are known as Army Tactical Missile Systems or ATACMS. It is a supersonic guided missile system that. Can carry either a cluster or conventional cluster bomb warhead.. Its range slightly exceeds 300 kilometers.

Biden’s response to North Korean meddling.

The truth is that months ago Washington supplied the shorter-range version of the ATACMS, the 100-mile (160 km) ones, for fear that Kiev would attack Russia. However, last April the U.S. secretly sent the longer-range version of the missilewhich the Ukrainians used to attack Russian targets but on their soil (occupied territory), because the veto of not firing on properly Russian territory worked. That is what is now changing.

In any case, for the time being, Biden has authorized Ukraine to use long-range missiles. made in USA but with limitations. It will be only to defend its offensive positions in the Russian Kursk region.. This is the region in southern Russia where Kiev launched its surprise counteroffensive last summer and where now the army of Vladimir Putin is being helped by thousands of troops from North Korea.

That is to say, as it clarifies The New York Timesallowing the Ukrainians to use ATACMS missiles is the US response to Russia’s surprise decision to bring North Korean troops into the fight.

What ATACMS missiles look like

The MGM-140 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile manufactured by Lockheed Martin. With a range of 306 km (190 miles), can be fired from multiple rocket launchers, including the M270 MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) and HIMARS.

The ATACMS is a long-range guided missile and difficult to intercept due to its high speed. Propelled by a solid propellant rocket, it is equipped with a specialized GPS system.

The missile carries a 227-kilogram explosive fragmentation warhead, but in another of its more frequently used version incorporates cluster munitions. When fired, the clusters open in midair, releasing hundreds of bomblets instead of a single warhead.

The ATACMS is single-stage, is 4 meters long and about 6 centimeters in diameter.. It is packaged in a guided missile launch assembly pod.

Features

HIMARS, mobile platform for launching ATACMS

Spc. Russell J. Good of U.S. Department of Defense

HIMARS platforms (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) are already on Ukrainian soil. They can launch an ATACMS from almost anywhere.i.e., it is a mobile platform. Therefore, ATACMS launchers are difficult to detect and destroy.

The M270 HIMARS launching ATACMS feature a single launch tube. The launch container has a lid with six circles like the lid of a standard MLRS rocket, but contains only one missile. That subterfuge, claims this military analysis website, makes it a more difficult for enemy intelligence to identify it as a high-value target.

The first combat use of ATACMS was. during operation Desert Storm (1990-1991). Thirty-two of them were fired from M270 MLRS rocket launchers. Later, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, more than 450 missiles were fired.