Spain transfers four Hawk air defense systems to Ukraine

Ukraine will receive four Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems from Spain.

Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense, tweeted this news on his account.

These weapons are transferred to strengthen the air defense of Ukraine, which is designed to protect the country from Russian missile and air strikes.

“I’m grateful to my Spanish colleague Margarita Robles for the decision to send 4 Hawk air defense systems to Ukraine,” Reznikov wrote.

The minister said that “It’s a quick response for Ukraine’s request at Ramstein 6.”

The head of the defense department stressed that “today air defence is a priority not only for Ukraine, but for all of Europe.”

MIM-23 Hawk is an American medium-range anti-aircraft missile system manufactured by Raytheon. It was adopted in 1960, and since then it has undergone several modernization programs.

Initially, the system was developed to destroy aircraft. Later it was finalized to intercept missiles. The first versions of the system had a range of 25 km for aerial targets, and an altitude of 14 km. After modernization: the maximum target interception range increased to 40 km with a maximum interception altitude of 18 km.

The main firing unit of the system is the anti-aircraft battery, which usually consists of two firing platoons with three launchers each. Each mobile launcher houses three MIM-23 anti-aircraft missiles. Launchers can be either self-propelled or towed.

In addition to launchers, the battery, depending on the modification, includes various radars, a mobile control post, an IFF system and several other auxiliary equipment.

In 1994, the United States Army replaced it with the MIM-104 Patriot SAM. Finally, the system in the United States was decommished in 2002, after the American Marine Corps removed it from service. In total, about 40,000 missiles were produced in the world for this type of SAM. They were made not only in the United States, but in several other countries, under license.

In 2021, Spain’s armed forces received the first upgraded MIM-23 Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems. Modernization affected radar stations and launchers, on which analog components were replaced with digital ones, thereby extending the service life of the air defense system. This is the first phase of the upgrade, and from 2025 it is planned to replace target detection radar stations with more modern Sentinel.