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Ukraine uses US-provided long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian forces for the first time (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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The United States has quietly delivered the long-range ballistic missiles that Ukraine said it urgently needed and that President Joe Biden promised last month, U.S. officials said Tuesday, and Ukraine has already begun using them on the battlefield against Russia for the first time.

The missiles arrived in Ukraine within the last few days, one of the officials said. Their delivery to the warfront gives Ukraine a critical ability to strike Russian targets that are farther away, allowing Ukrainian forces to stay safely out of range. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter before an official announcement and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity.

The delivery of the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, was shrouded in secrecy, with the expectation that the first public acknowledgement would come when the missiles were used on the battlefield. That intense secrecy is a marked change from previous U.S. weapons sent by the Biden administration. In nearly all other cases, the U.S. has publicly announced its decision prior to the weapons and equipment being shipped overseas.

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[-] Triple_B@lemmy.zip 25 points 1 year ago

Everything in the military that is an initialism still gets pronounced like it's an acronym, so I wonder if ATACMS comes out to "attack 'ems"?

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago

The designers that name things seem to be at war with people that need to refer to them.

Perfect example: The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV).

That seems like a name some designer laughed at when they thought "good luck pronouncing that!" Someone eventually called it a Humvee or just a Hummer.

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

It's because people insist on pronouncing acronyms unnecessarily. Or better yet, just go with whatever the creator put out for pronunciation

Just say S-Q-L, not 'Sequel'. Just say G-U-I not 'Gooey' (This one just fills me with disgust...)

[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

So those don't really bother me, one less syllable = slightly quicker to say.

However given that, inexplicably with its single syllable, URL as "Earl" absolutely does my head in.

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I've never heard that before for URL, I hate it lmao

c/TIHI

[-] Jessvj93@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Bruh same on the second! Like UI is okay by itself, but for the love of GOD "Gouie"???

[-] subignition@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

If you're clicking on a gooey, wash your hands

[-] fluxion@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Yah I'm not calling them A T A C M S, or H M M W V s, those acronyms are well-warranted

[-] Triple_B@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

True. Occasionally stuff breaks through that's just easy. ADCAP, TEER, AN/UYK-43... wait, maybe not that one.

[-] rbos@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

Jeep is a variant of GP, General Purpose vehicle.

[-] RandomStickman@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago

100% pronounced like attack 'ems

[-] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 3 points 1 year ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

100% pronounced like attack 'ems

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[-] SuperJetShoes@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Came here to write exactly that! .

One exception would be the "MOAB", which officially stands for "Massive Ordnance Air Blast", but is surely unofficially the "Mother Of All Bombs" - a poker at Saddam Hussein's statement that he would unleash the "Mother of All Wars".

[-] Restaldt@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago

🌻

[-] trslim@pawb.social 8 points 1 year ago

I wonder if Ukraine can reach the Crimean bridge with these now? I know Storm Shadow hit it before, but that seemed rather risky to spend limited long range weapons on a better defended target. If they can cause reasonable damage to the bridge, it'd make it very difficult for Russia to keep the south supplied.

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

If they can get within 100 miles yes, but these are cluster bomb versions so I'm unsure if that would be effective against the bridge itself.

[-] khannie@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Yeah unfortunately useless against a bridge but perfect for an oul' airfield or two.

Or indeed any logistics depot within any meaningful distance of the front line.

Huge news that they're finally there

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 5 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Their delivery to the warfront gives Ukraine a critical ability to strike Russian targets that are farther away, allowing Ukrainian forces to stay safely out of range.

Because of lingering U.S. concerns about escalating tensions with Russia, the ATACMS version that went to Ukraine will have a shorter range than the maximum distance the missiles can have.

While some versions of the missiles can go as far as about 180 miles (300 kilometers), the ones sent to Ukraine have a shorter range and carry cluster munitions, which, when fired, open in the air, releasing hundreds of bomblets rather than a single warhead.

But the Biden administration balked for months, worried that Kyiv could use the weapons to hit deep into Russian territory, enraging Moscow and escalating the conflict.

The U.S., however, has refused to provide any details on timing or how many missiles would be delivered, although officials suggested that the plan was to send a small number, roughly two dozen.

Ukrainian forces want to use the missiles to help fuel their counteroffensive as it heads into the muddy and colder winter months, enabling troops to strike behind Russian lines while staying out of firing range.

The original article contains 604 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 68%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] HoustonHenry@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Send those bad boys to their forever home 😆

[-] Benign@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

I hope they got... Bang for their buck. I'll see myself out.

this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023

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