The Pentagon is trying to speed up the delivery of NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine amid the Russian attacks on cities and infrastructure.

This will make it possible to better repel attacks, including those by Iranian “Shahed-136” kamikaze drones used by the Russian Federation.

CNN reports about this.

According to the Pentagon official, the US has already committed eight NASAMS systems to Ukraine, including the two being accelerated.

The systems are currently being manufactured by Raytheon in a joint partnership with Norway’s Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace. The US is now hoping to complete manufacturing two of those systems by the end of October or early November.

Once the systems are completed, they will be flown to a nearby country and then shipped by land to Ukraine.

They emphasize that the work of the U.S. Department of Defense proves the desire of the United States and its allies to help Ukraine create a comprehensive air defense system as soon as possible.

They note that it is Iranian drones that are becoming an increasingly urgent problem. The United States does not know how many drones Iran has provided to Russia, however, military analysts believe their number to be “significant.” One representative of the US defense sector estimated the total number at hundreds.

At the same time, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, based on intelligence data, announced that the Russian Federation had ordered 2,400 kamikaze drones from Iran.

As previously reported, the US announced transferring two NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine in July. Later, on August 24, it was announced that they would ship 6 more systems.

On October 14, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov mentioned that Ukraine will receive NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems this month.

NASAMS air defense systems are designed to defeat aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, and enemy cruise missiles.

The system comprises mobile launchers with six containers with anti-aircraft missiles each. The SAM also includes radar stations.

The range of the anti-aircraft system in the NASAMS II configuration using AIM-120С AMRAAM missiles is up to 25 km, and the operational altitude reaches 14-15 km.