NATO Orders Stinger Anti-Aircraft Missiles Worth $11.3 Trillion, For Ukraine?

Ukrainian soldiers with the Stinger missile system at the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle. (Wikimedia Commons/AFU Joint Forces Command/Mil.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has ordered nearly $700 million (IDR11,390,295,000,000) worth of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles on behalf of several member states, the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

"Just today, (NATO's procurement agency) NSPA signed a new multinational contract for Stinger missiles worth nearly $700 million," he told a meeting of defense industry leaders on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, United States, as reported by Reuters on July 10.

The last contract for Stinger missiles, made by Raytheon RTX Division, was awarded in May 2022 when the U.S. Army contracted $625 million worth of anti-aircraft missiles to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine.

The shoulder-fired Stinger missiles are in high demand in Ukraine, where they have successfully stopped Russian attacks from the air, and in neighboring European countries that fear they may also be needed to repel Russian forces.

NATO’s order for Stingers will keep production lines running until 2029, an RTX spokesman told Reuters.

Ukraine has repeatedly expressed its need for an upgrade of its air defense systems, following airstrikes on Kyiv and other cities in the country.

The Ukrainian government has repeatedly expressed its need for an upgrade of its air defense systems from its allies. Most recently, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Ukraine still lacks air defenses and urged Kyiv’s allies to urgently supply more systems to protect cities from Russian attacks, following Monday’s strikes.

NATO itself is holding a summit in Washington on July 9-11. Last week, an official from Uncle Sam's country said that alliance members would reaffirm political, military and financial support for Ukraine at this summit.

The senior American official also said that the United States and several NATO allies would announce new steps to strengthen Ukraine's air defense and military capabilities to help Ukraine continue to defend itself at this time.

Also last week, Ukraine received the third Patriot missile air defense system supplied by Germany. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this year that his country needed at least seven additional Patriot systems to protect itself.