Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense would have received unexpected help from Taiwan. According to the Forbes newspaper, which cites a former Pentagon official, the island donated its surplus HAWK surface-to-air missile batteries to the Ukrainian air force.
These batteries are each equipped with at least six launchers of three missiles and associated radars. Their range is around fifty kilometers. Forbes, which is based on a draft agreement in the summer of 2023 with the United States, suggests that a dozen HAWK batteries would have been donated. Ukraine, which also received some from the United States and Spain, now has around fifteen.
« The HAWK missile is over 60 years old but is simple, reliable, highly mobile thanks to its towed launchers, easy to upgrade and works perfectly against slower drones, cruise missiles and manned aircraft “, explains Forbes. It is also compatible with the NASAMS anti-missile system, which Ukraine already has.
Another advantage: many countries use HAWK batteries in their armies, so the appropriate missiles exist in abundance and can easily be supplied to kyiv. Good news as American military aid could stop after the election of Donald Trump.
South Korea still threatens
Another Asian country could soon supply weapons to Ukraine: South Korea, which has promised to respond to the sending of North Korean troops to the front. “ If North Korea and Russia do not end their dangerous military adventures, we stand ready to put in place effective and appropriate measures, including increased support for Ukraine, in collaboration with our allies and countries sharing the same values “, said President Yoon Suk Yeol in an interview on Thursday (November 14).
But for several weeks now, South Korea has been threatening aid to Ukraine, without having yet announced anything. Park Chan-dae, head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party (center left), the main opposition party, declared at the end of October that arming Ukraine is “ an incredibly dangerous idea that treats people's lives like pawns in a game of chess “. He asks to wait for the arrival of Donald Trump to see if the president-elect actually puts an end to the war in Ukraine, as he promised.
