The Drive:

Spain and France have announced that they will both be delivering ground-based air defense systems to Ukraine. This development has taken place as NATO member countries collectively rush to provide Ukraine with advanced air defense capabilities they need to combat attacks like the recent barrage of Russian cruise missiles and drones on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

In a press briefing held Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Spain would be sending four medium-range Homing All the Way Killer (HAWK) air defense systems to Ukraine. The country is also providing Kyiv with ground-based Aspide anti-aircraft missile systems, on which 19 Ukrainian servicemen have been training since early October. French President Emmanuel Macron has yet to reveal which specific air defense systems France intends to send to Ukraine, but all signs are currently pointing to the Crotale short-range missile system.

The Spanish Ministry of Defense first confirmed the delivery of the Aspide system, which is currently used by the Spanish Air Force, this summer, and Ukrainian forces are projected to complete their training course on the type Friday, October 14. Aspide is an Italian surface-to-air missile system first produced in the 1970s by what was then known as Alenia Aeronautica and is now Selenia, which is a part of Leonardo under the MBDA European missile consortium.

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