Exclusive-U.S. considers HAWK air defense equipment for Ukraine, say U.S. officials

Romanian Army soldiers deploy a HAWK PIP III R ground-to-air missile launch pad during a joint military exercise with the US Army that aimed to test the interoperability of U.S. and Romanian armed forces in the event of a missile attack, near Corbu village in Constanta county, Romania, November 8, 2016. Inquam Photos/Ovidiu Micsik/via REUTERS

The United States is considering sending older HAWK air defense equipment from storage to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian drone and cruise missile attacks, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile systems - a smaller, shorter range air defense system - that the United States has already sent to blunt Russia's invasion.