The United States secretly modifies HIMARS sent to Ukraine, the purpose is …

WASHINGTON – The HIMARS rocket launchers that Ukraine received from Washington have been “silently modified” so that they cannot engage long-range missiles, even if Kiev bought them elsewhere.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported it on Monday (5/12/2022), citing unnamed US officials.

A total of 20 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers have been delivered to Ukraine since June, along with several batches of GMLRS missiles and guided vehicles. The GMLRS has a range of nearly 80 kilometres.

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Since then several activists have called for Ukraine to also receive the ATACMS rocket, with a range of over 300 kilometres. The United States has refused, so far.

“Even if the White House changes its mind, or Kiev manages to obtain ATACMS, or similar long-range missiles, from elsewhere, they will not work on HIMARS currently in the field,” the WSJ report said.

“The changes made to the system before it was shipped to Ukraine involved both hardware and software,” said an unnamed official who spoke to the outlet.

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The Ukrainian military declined to comment. So did the Pentagon, quibbling, “Operational Security Considerations.”

According to the WSJ, “The changes reflect administration officials’ concerns that their Ukrainian partners may stop fulfilling their promises not to invade Russian territory with US-supplied weapons, as well as President Joe’s administration’s desire Biden to reduce the risk of a broader war with Russia.”