In particular, Lockheed Martin’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) have given Ukrainian forces both the mobility and range to push back on Russian positions, which have reduced considerably in the past few months.

While U.S. military aid to Ukraine continues, President Joe Biden made a claim about the range of these rocket systems, a remark that was met with some skepticism.

The Claim

At a news conference, held on November 9, 2022, Joe Biden claimed that the U.S. was delivering HIMARS missiles capable of reaching “160 miles.”

“Well, the HIMARS—there’s two kinds of, in the average person’s parlance, rockets you can drop in those: one that goes over 600 miles and one that goes about 160 miles,” he said.

“We didn’t give them any ones that go to 600 miles, because I’m not looking for them to start bombing Russian territory.”

His comments were picked up on Twitter; while pro-Ukraine accounts hailed the speech as welcome news, others were skeptical, noting that no such 600-mile system existed.

The Facts

It’s not clear which HIMARS missiles the president is referring to although, regardless, he does appear to have mixed up the numbers. It is possible he may have also mistaken miles for kilometers.

Newsweek has not found any record of HIMARS that can fire missiles with a 600-mile range (although similar technology is reportedly in development by the German weapons manufacturer MBDA).

According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies, an American think tank, while the U.S. has missiles capable of reaching that range, such as the AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missile or the Tomahawk subsonic cruise missile, these are not fired from HIMARS launchers.

HIMARS manufacturer Lockheed Martin, says the launcher can fire rounds reaching beyond 300km and is “interoperable with the latest precision munitions that range 15 to 499+ km.”

This would mean that while unable to reach 600 miles (nearly 1,000 kilometers), these launchers could fire ballistics with a range of 160 miles (257 kilometers).

Nonetheless, the missiles which the U.S. has provided to Ukraine are much smaller range than 160 miles or even 160 kilometers, according to the Congressional Research Service report dated October 2022.

Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at Middlebury Institute and a director at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told Newsweek the president appears to have made a mistake.

“He’s definitely confusing miles and kilometers,” Dr. Lewis said.

“But he’s making other mistakes as well. It’s not unusual for politicians and senior officials to make range mistakes.

“It sounds like he’s trying to say that we’re sending GMLRs (70km) but not ATACMs (300km). He’s wrong about the ranges.”

Lockheed Martin provided Newsweek with additional information about the missiles it says HIMARS can fire, including Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rounds.

The GMLRS reach 70km, according to Lockheed Martin, although in March 2021 it announced a successful test of its next-generation Extended-Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (ER GMLRS) munition in an 80-kilometer flight demonstration.

The ER GMLRS, currently in development, is reported to have a reach of up to 150 kilometers, which is perhaps the closest (though not exactly the same distance or units) to that mentioned by the U.S. president.

Dr Lewis emphasized that these missiles were not in production yet and, as official documents suggest, the U.S. is not arming Ukraine with higher-range munitions, openly or in secret.

Newsweek likewise found no public record of such supplies. While it is at least theoretically possible that there may be additional (and possibly unofficial or secret) exports, it is reasonable to assume such efforts would involve munitions already in production. Existence of such supplies would be extremely difficult to confirm or refute independently.

Regardless of what the U.S. provides for Ukraine, while Biden’s broader point is correct, the specifics are inaccurate.

“So, I would say I follow what Biden’s saying—that there are range restrictions in terms of what the US is willing to supply,” Dr. Lewis added.

“My guess is that he’s confusing the range of ATACMs with the distance from Ukraine to Moscow, which is about 600 miles.”

Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), capable of hitting targets 190 miles away from HIMARS, have been sought after by Ukraine, along with other long-range weaponry.

Still, the Pentagon has pushed back against those requests, saying the GMLRS is sufficient, and Biden has also said more powerful weaponry is unnecessary, because the risks of escalation outweighed the potential benefits.

In any case, whether the president mistook miles for kilometers or simply misremembered (or was provided the wrong) figure, there is no evidence to suggest that the U.S.’ HIMARS delivery has come with munitions capable of striking more than 100 kilometers away. That appears (at least in part) to be a deliberate effort to avoid provoking Moscow.

Newsweek has contacted the White House, The Pentagon, and the U.S. Army for comment.

The Ruling

False

It is possible that Biden has mistaken the HIMARS capabilities, measuring in miles rather than kilometers.

Regardless, the known HIMARS munitions the U.S. has declared supplying to Ukraine do not have a range any greater than 100 kilometers.

Nor is there any public record or evidence of a HIMARS missile type at the range limits that Biden was referencing.

While HIMARS have already made a significant impact in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, the U.S. government has resisted requests for its longer-range missiles, citing concerns about an escalation of the conflict.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team