Turkey plans ATACMS transfer to Ukraine: 70 missiles in $300M package

Turkey’s proposal to the US State Department would permanently transfer ATACMS missiles to Ukraine under a roughly $300M weapons package, pending congressional review. The deal was notified to Congress on Aug. 6 and includes 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles (range ~165 km, submunitions), originally bought by Turkey for about $28M. The package also contains 12 M270 MLRS launchers, 2,524 M26 DPICM cluster munitions, and 47,000 M509A1 203 mm DPICM artillery shells. Delivery could begin as early as late August 2026, after a 15–30 day review window under the Arms Export Control Act. Logistics and compliance involve Turkish firm MKE A.S. (seller side) and US entities Pansophico and Patriot Defense Group (transaction compliance and logistics), with Bulgaria supporting transit/facilitation. Ukraine has already used earlier ATACMS variants supplied directly by Washington since late 2023. The congressional review is the key variable: lawmakers can object or try to block the transfer. Lockheed Martin manufactures the ATACMS family, and future restocking demand from Ankara could eventually benefit production. Overall, this is the largest third-party transfer of US-origin weapons to Ukraine that Turkey has facilitated so far.