WASHINGTON: The United States will sell Ukraine $138 million of equipment to maintain and upgrade its HAWK air defense systems to help defend against Russian drone and cruise missile attacks, a U.S. State Department official told Reuters on Tuesday.

In 2022, the U.S. began shipping HAWK interceptor missilesto Ukraine as an upgrade to the shoulder-launched Stinger airdefense missile systems - a smaller, shorter-range air defensesystem.

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Tuesday’s emergency Foreign Military Sale (FMS) uses $138million of the $300 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF)that Congress passed as part of the annual defense spending billrecently signed into law.

Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) had been used previously to transfer HAWK equipment to Ukraine.

Presidential Drawdown Authority allows the United States to transfer defense articles and services from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency.