The United States has the ability to transfer only 20 to 50 Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, which will not significantly affect the development of hostilities in the Russian-Ukrainian war. This version was voiced by Stacey Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security think tank.
Points of attention
- The upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the topic of potential Tomahawk missile supply highlight the strategic importance of such weaponry in the conflict.
- Understanding the dynamics of missile transfers between the US and Ukraine is crucial in assessing the effectiveness of leveraging Tomahawk missiles as a strategic tool in diplomacy and warfare.
The US can't give Ukraine many Tomahawks?
As the Financial Times has learned, US leader Donald Trump will hold talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on October 17.
The main topic of the meeting is the search for tools to force the Russian dictator to sit at the negotiating table, in particular through the possibility of supplying Kyiv with Tomahawk missiles.
While long-range missiles could complement Ukraine's own strike drones and long-range cruise missiles "in large, complex volleys with greater effect," they "would still be a very limited capability... certainly not sufficient to provide sustained deep strikes on Russia," Stacey Pettyjohn stressed.
A statement on this issue was also made by Mark Kansian, a former official of the US Department of Defense and currently an employee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
He pointed out that the United States has a total of 4,150 Tomahawk missiles.
However, 3 years ago, the Pentagon purchased only 200 missiles and has already spent more than 120.
What is also important to understand is that the agency requested funding for only 57 additional Tomahawks in its 2026 budget.
The US Department of Defense does not disclose to reporters how many missiles it has at its disposal.
