What exactly is the Army Tactical Missile System, sent by US to Ukraine?

It has been confirmed by the United States that it has given Army tactical missile Systems to Ukraine. This has been done to support Ukraine in the war against Russia. Earlier, the President of Ukraine, Volodymr Zelenskyy had asked for the missiles from the United States.

It was on Tuesday that the confirmation came post the passing of a Bill by the US Congress. The Bill actually apportioned a total of $61 billion worth funding for Ukraine.

What exactly is the ATACMS system? Let's understand.

Understanding the ATACMS system

As per Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the ATACMS system, the ATACMS is actually a surface-to-surface artillery weapon system. The conventional system is actually able to strike targets even beyond the range of the present-day Army rockets, missiles, and cannons.

The maximum range of the ATACMS system is 300km. It is important to note that it is not for the very first time ever that the ATACMS system has been delivered by the United States. An incident like this took place in the month of October last year when the United States provided missiles that came with cluster munitions. The missiles were such that when they were fired, they opened in the air and actually released numerous bomblets.

The ATACMS missiles are actually fired from the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) M270 platform and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Ukraine has been provided these by the United Kingdom and the United States earlier. 

The importance of ATACMS

The need for such long-range missiles have been expressed by Zeelnskyy for a long time. He posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter where he thanked the United States for the Bill on help for Ukraine.

America was reluctant to offer these missiles as it was concerned that this would further increase the attacks on Russia and this could potentially heat the war. Yet, Sullivian urged that Ukraine needed these missiles now.