The United States announced the 100% effectiveness of the NASAMS air defense systems, which recently underwent a baptism of fire in Ukraine.

At the beginning of the seventh meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Lloyd Austin, Head of the Pentagon, mentioned that the systems provided by the United States showcased their effectiveness in intercepting missiles during the Russian missile strikes on Ukraine on November 15.

According to him, the efforts of the contact group are aimed at ensuring that Ukraine maintains the initiative on the battlefield.

“As an example of how important our donations are, we can cite the NASAMS air defense systems already operating in Ukraine. Yesterday, they showcased 100% success in intercepting Russian missiles during the brutal bombardment by the Kremlin,” Austin said.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, on November 15, 2022, the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with 96 cruise missiles. Kh-101, Kh-555, and Kalibr missiles, along with Kh-59 guided cruise missiles, Shahed-136 and 131 kamikaze drones, Orion attack drones, and Orlan-10 reconnaissance drones were used. Ukrainian air defense managed to neutralize 75 missiles. Air defense systems recently received from Western partners were also deployed.

“Air defenses shot down 75 Kh-101, Kh-555, Kalibr cruise missiles, two Kh-59 guided missiles, 10 Shahed-136/131 drones, one Orion UAV, and one Orlan-10 UAV,” Ukrainian Air Force reported.

In his evening video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the NASAMS air defense systems worked 100% effectively during the massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine on Tuesday – 10 hits were recorded out of 10 launches.

He also thanked the Western countries that are helping to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense.

“I want to thank all the partners who help protect the sky. In particular, our NASAMS systems worked well today: ten hits out of ten launches,” the President said.

As previously reported, on November 7, Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, announced that the new air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine. This regards the NASAMS air defense systems from the USA and the ASPIDE anti-aircraft missile system from Spain.

“These weapons will significantly strengthen the Ukrainian army and make our skies safer. We will continue shooting down the enemy targets attacking us. Thank you to our partners: Norway, Spain, and the US,” Reznikov wrote.

The NASAMS SAM includes launchers and Raytheon AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar stations from the Raytheon and Kongsberg consortium. Each mobile launcher is equipped with six containers with anti-aircraft missiles. The range of the NASAMS II anti-aircraft system configuration using AIM-120С AMRAAM missiles is up to 25 km, and the reach in altitude is up to 14-15 km.