New Gravehawk Air Defense System Headed to Ukraine as part of British £4.5 Billion Aid Package
On January 16, the UK announced a new £4.5 billion ($5.5 billion USD) aid package for Ukraine. The star of this package is the brand new Gravehawk air defense system which was designed by the UK specifically for Ukraine with Danish financial support. Two prototype systems were already tested in Ukraine back in September and fifteen additional platforms are set to arrive following the announcement. The British government described the Gravehawk in an official press release:
“The innovative system, which is the size of a shipping container, is able to retrofit air-air missiles for ground-based air defence, meaning it can use Ukrainian missiles already in their Armed Forces’ possession. With Ukraine under constant Russian bombardment, the Gravehawk system will boost Ukraine’s air defences, allowing them to defend their cities, troops and critical infrastructure.”
While information on the system remains limited, some have speculated that the system may be the SupaCat truck-mounted AIM-132 ASRAAM missile-armed air defense system which had been reportedly delivered to Ukraine back in 2023. Nevertheless, there is little evidence of this claim beyond the system roughly meeting the vague description provided by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD).
As part of the £4.5 billion aid package, the UK has also promised drones and artillery. Under a £61 million contract, BAE Systems will work with Sheffield Forgemasters to manufacture barrel forgings which will then be sent to Ukraine.
Additionally, the UK announced plans to expand its training program for Ukrainian soldiers. The British have helped train 51,000 Ukrainian recruits in the past two years as part of Operation Interflex and are now “working closely with allies and partners to design and develop a new training offer”. The only specifics provided by the latest announcement are that Ukrainian officer cadets will be trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. At the same time, British officer cadets will attend Ukrainian colleges to learn from Ukraine’s recent combat experience.