According to U.S. authorities, HAWK air defence weaponry is being considered for Ukraine.

For Ukraine’s protection against Russian drone and cruise missile assaults, the US is thinking of bringing outdated HAWK air defence equipment from storage, two US officials spoke to Reuters.

The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an improvement over the Stinger missile systems, a smaller, shorter range air defence system that the US has launched to thwart the Russian invasion.

Using the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), the Biden administration would transfer the HAWK equipment, which is based on technology from the Vietnam War era but has undergone numerous upgrades. In response to an emergency, the PDA enables the United States to swiftly transfer defence goods and services from inventories without legislative permission.

How many HAWK systems and missiles the US has available for transfer is unknown to Reuters. The White House declined to comment.

U.S. sources spoke to Reuters, the HAWK system is the forerunner of Raytheon Technologies’ (RTX.N) PATRIOT missile defence system, which is not an option for Ukraine.

Following a devastating Russian missile barrage earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden promised Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskiy that Washington would give Ukraine advanced air systems.

Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO states that, Spain plans to contribute four HAWK launchers.

Because it was uncertain whether enough American launchers were in acceptable condition, the United States would probably initially provide interceptor missiles for the HAWK system to Ukraine, a U.S. official told Reuters. The American systems have been stored for many years.

U.S. authorities have stated that a PDA is being considered for later this week. It would probably be half as big as the most recent security assistance packages, which have been roughly $700 million in size.

Although it was not immediately obvious whether HAWK interceptor missiles would be provided, American officials have previously issued a warning that the amount and makeup of military aid packages can quickly alter.