US Trained Ukrainian Missileers Who Sunk Russian Warship, Pentagon Official Says
Ukrainian forces who sank a Russian warship with Harpoon missiles in June were trained in the United States, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer said.
That key detail of the strike and a few others were disclosed Wednesday by Bill LaPlante, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, during a conference panel hosted by Defense News.
Ukrainians were trained on the use of the weapons “in our country over Memorial Day weekend,” LaPlante said.
The Boeing-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles used in the strike were given to the Ukrainians by a U.S. ally that LaPlante did not disclose. The missiles were removed from the ally’s ship and then mounted on the back of a flatbed truck. A second flatbed truck served as a “power source,” he said. “There's incredible innovation going on right now and we just don't talk about it enough.”
In mid-June, Ukraine said it
deployed Harpoons provided by Denmark. Days later, reports emerged that the Ukrainian military had
sunk the Russian naval supply ship Spasatel Vasily Bekh. A week later the Pentagon
said Ukraine had sunk that ship with Harpoons.
On Wednesday, LaPlante said that Ukrainian forces had since sunk another Russian warship with the Harpoons. He did not name the ship.
In June, U.S. officials
pledged to send Ukraine vehicle-mounted Harpoons as part of a $1 billion weapons package.
In April, Ukrainian forces used Neptune missiles to
sink the Moskva, flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
Bill LaPlante also said the Ukrainians have used modified Harpoons to sink a second warship.
www.defenseone.com