WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2022) The Biden administration is developing a plan to provide Ukraine with advanced anti-ship missiles capable of taking on Russian vessels that are currently blockading the country's ports as part of Moscow's special military operation, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The White House is considering sending two types of anti-ship missile - Boeing Harpoons and Raytheon-Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles (NSM), the report cited three US officials and two congressional sources as saying.
However, the weapons' delivery is being complicated by the fact that there is limited availability of platforms to launch the Harpoons from shore, given that the missile is largely sea-based, the report said.
The Biden administration is considering taking a launcher off of a US ship, according to the officials cited in the report.
There is also reluctance among countries possessing Harpoon missiles to be the first to send them to Ukraine because of concerns about Russian reprisals should a ship be sunk, the officials said.
The United States considers delivery of NSMs to be less logistically challenging, due to the fact that NATO allies could loan available ground-based launchers, the report said.
Weapons requests, including the US systems, would need approval by the State Department, the report added.
The British Defense Ministry has estimated that approximately 20 Russian vessels, including submarines, are currently operating in the Black Sea.�
