A U.S. Congressional Resolution proposes that the US provide Ukraine with the 300-kilometer range ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System). Ukraine would be able to conduct precision strikes in Russian territory, targeting for example the Kerch Bridge to Crimea. The Biden Administration hesitated to put the weapon in Ukrainian hands fearing wider escalation. But it is unlikely that this Wunderwaffe will make more of a difference than previous miracle weapons—the Jackknife Drone, the Javelin anti-tank missiles, HIMARS, and so forth. The US made just 3,700 ATACMS between 1986 and 2007. This obsolete weapon flies at Mach 3, while Russia’s S-300 air defense missile flies at Mach 6 (and the Russians made 28,000 of them through 2012, enough to protect key targets like the Kerch Bridge). ATACMS cost $1.5m, S-300’s $1 million.
The fact that Russian air defense systems can defend against ATACMS doesn’t mean that the threat is trivial, according to a Russian expert writing in Gazeta.ru. Intercepting ballistic missiles requires a constant high level of readiness. “The anti-aircraft missile system must be turned on, the power supply must be made independent regular means, the air defense system must be checked for functioning, a full combat crew must be deployed, illumination and guidance radars (multifunctional S-400 radars) must be deployed towards the firing positions of the HIMARS MLRS and work for radiation, and anti-aircraft guided missiles must pass the necessary cycle preparation,” a retired colonel in Russia’s rocket service wrote in 2022.