The allocation of more than one hundred million pounds of military aid to Ukraine from funds administered by the United Kingdom’s International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) was officially announced by the UK Ministry of Defence on October 11, 2023.
Approximately 70 million pounds of this sum will be allocated towards financing a contract that has already been executed to provide Ukraine with an unspecified quantity of Terrahawk Paladin 30mm ground-based anti-aircraft artillery systems. These systems are being developed and manufactured by the British firm MSI-Defense Systems Ltd. (MSI-DS).
The residual funds allocated from this humanitarian assistance package for Ukraine will be utilised to acquire transport vehicles and demining and bridging equipment. As of today, 785 million pounds sterling has reportedly been contributed to the IFU fund for Ukraine by the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and Lithuania.
The MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin anti-aircraft ordnance system, which was initially unveiled in September 2022 at the defence exhibition DSEI-2022 in London, is predominantly engineered to engage unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The system comprises a remotely operated combat module, the Terrahawk LW (an upgraded version of the Seahawk LW A2 naval combat module) designed by MSI-DS. This module is outfitted with a Northrop Grumman Bushmaster II Mk 44 30mm automatic cannon, capable of discharging programmable rounds and two distinct types of ammunition. The combat module has a dual-feed ammunition system and can adjust to 20 to 40-mm calibre artillery. The detection system comprises a compact radar, SKYctrl, which is affixed to a mast with four stationary antennas. It operates on an electronic-optical station MSI-DS SATOS, which functions continuously and incorporates a laser rangefinder and is based on an X-band Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (AESA) manufactured by FIELDctrl for the Polish firm Advanced Protection Systems (APS).
An MSI-DS representative stated in September 2023 at the DSEI-2023 exhibition in London that the company already had two clients for the Terrahawk Paladin systems, one of which was from the “Middle East.” The Ukrainian market was the subject of media speculation as the second client.
