According to the Pentagon, Ukrainian forces are now using the US missile system known as Vampire to destroy Russian drones. L3Harris Technologies Inc. The weapon was transported by trucks, allowing Ukraine to repel Russian attacks, the Pentagon’s Office of Procurement and Procurement told Bloomberg News.

“The first “Vampire” complexes were delivered and entered service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the message said. statement is included.

According to the company’s investor bulletin, four of the first 14 systems signed in January under the $40 million deal arrived in Ukraine by mid-year, with the rest due by the end of the year. The Pentagon declined to elaborate on the timing of further deliveries.

While Russia used drones, including the Iranian-made Shahed-136, to devastating effect in its invasion, Kiev’s allies rushed to provide Ukraine with defensive capabilities.

Short for “Vehicle-Independent Modular Tracked ISR Rocket Equipment”, the Vampire system consists of portable kits that can be mounted on vehicles supplied by the US government. It fires BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System missiles equipped with detonators designed to explode near the drone.

In April, the Pentagon announced that it had signed a contract for 10 mobile laser-guided anti-drone systems, but did not give additional details about them. Unlike much of the US military aid to Ukraine that comes from existing stockpiles, the Vampire contract directly involves the defense industry as part of the Ukraine Security Initiative.