The UK Ministry of Defence has revealed it will send five additional Raven air defense systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The project, which will increase Kyiv’s Ravens to 13, is part of London’s “Kindred” effort to support Ukraine’s national security through “stockpiles and rapid procurement” amidst Russia’s continued aggression.

Britain first delivered the ground-based capabilities to Ukraine in 2023 in addition to almost 150 surface-to-air missiles.

Col. Olly Todd, military assistant head at UK Task Force Kindred, highlighted that Ukrainian warfighters have completed more than 400 engagements using the weapons on the frontlines, with a success rate of over 70 percent.

Among the targets that the system was used against include cruise missiles, aerial drones, and fixed and rotary-wing helicopters.

“The Ukrainians love this system,” Todd explained. “They said how effective it is and how important it has been as part of their air defence network.”

The Raven Weapon System

The Raven is a result of a collaboration between the Royal Air Force Air and Space Warfare Center, UK Defence Equipment & Support, and British defense contractor MBDA.

It is installed on a Supacat High Mobility Transporter 600 truck and uses the MBDA-manufactured Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM).

The ASRAAM, known in the US as the AIM-132, is a 3-meter (10-foot) weapon with a diameter of 166 millimeters (7 inches) and a wingspan of 450 millimeters (18 inches).

It is commonly used by older British aircraft, including the Hawk subsonic jet, the Jaguar supersonic jet, and the Tornado strike jet. It can also be installed on the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 Lightning II.

In the air, the missile has an operational range of over 25 kilometers (16 miles) and a speed of more than Mach 3 (3,704 kilometers/2,302 miles per hour).

“The Raven system, both the vehicle, the rail, and the missile, uses systems which were in the UK inventory but were no longer required,” Todd stated.

“These were missiles which had had their operational use in the [Royal Air Force] and were otherwise planned for disposal. Therefore, the support to Ukraine has not been at the expense of UK operations or readiness.”