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The U.S. State Department has notified Congress of a proposed permanent transfer of Turkish-held U.S.-made weapons systems to Ukraine, including 12 M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launchers and 70 M39 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles, according to documents printed in the Congressional Record on Aug. 6.
Because the equipment is of U.S. origin, its transfer from Türkiye's inventory to Ukraine requires U.S. government authorization and congressional notification under Section 3(d) of the Arms Export Control Act, a process commonly referred to as third-party transfer or re-export authorization.
Sen. Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, entered two separate arms transfer notifications into the Congressional Record on Aug. 6, noting that Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires Congress to receive prior notice of certain proposed arms sales, with a 30-calendar-day review period.
The first notification, numbered RSAT case 26-11496 by the State Department, covers the transfer of 12 M270 MLRS launchers, 2,524 M26 unguided Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM) rockets and 47,000 M509A1 203mm DPICM howitzer rounds, with an original acquisition value of approximately $255.9 million, according to the transmittal sheet.
The second notification covers 70 M39 ATACMS missiles, with an original acquisition value of approximately $28 million, according to the transmittal sheet.
Both notifications list the Government of Türkiye as the country proposing the transfer and the Government of Ukraine as the recipient.
The MLRS, DPICM rocket and howitzer round transfer would proceed via Turkish private entities MKE A.S., ASFAT A.S. and ARCA Savunma San. Tic. A.S.; Bulgarian private entity VTIC International Ltd.; and U.S. private entities Pansophico and Patriot Defense Group, according to the notification.
The ATACMS missile transfer would proceed via Turkish private entity MKE A.S. and U.S. private entities Pansophico and Patriot Defense Group, the notification states.
"Türkiye seeks to reduce its inventory of older defense articles to focus its financial resources on modernization and sustainment of existing systems," both notifications state.
"Ukraine seeks to acquire these systems to bolster its offensive and defense fire support capabilities as it resists the Russian invasion. Ukraine already possesses munitions of the same or essentially similar type," the notification says.
Both notifications say the transfer is proposed to be made "immediately after the congressional notification period is complete" and list Aug. 3, 2026, as the date the notification was delivered to Congress.
The U.S. government "is prepared to authorize this transfer, having taken into account political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations," according to the congressional notification transmittal sheets, both signed by Christopher Bergaust, senior bureau official in the State Department's Bureau of Legislative Affairs.
The sheets state the transfers are "consistent with U.S. security assistance objectives" and were routed to the Speaker of the House, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
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The ATACMS is a short-range tactical ballistic missile system capable of striking targets well beyond the front line, making it a more offensively oriented weapon than air-defense or artillery systems Türkiye has previously supplied to third countries.
Turkish defense analyst Arda Mevlutoglu commented on the development on X.
"If Türkiye is preparing to hand Ukraine an offensive weapons system, especially a tactical ballistic missile like ATACMS, then 'something' has changed considerably," he wrote.
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