Planes take off almost daily from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware – huge C-17s loaded with javelins, stingers, howitzers and other hardware are flown to Eastern Europe to resupply the Ukrainian army in its fight against Russia.

The groundbreaking impact of these weapons is exactly what President Joe Biden hopes to highlight when he visits a Lockheed Martin plant in Alabama that manufactures the Javelin man-portable anti-tank weapons that have played a crucial role in Ukraine.

Biden’s visit also draws attention to a growing concern as the war drags on: Can the US keep up the pace of shipping large quantities of weapons to Ukraine while keeping the stockpile healthy? what they might need if a new conflict breaks out with North Korea, Iran or elsewhere? ?

The United States has already supplied about 7,000 javelins, some of which were delivered during the Trump administration, about a third of its stockpile, to Ukraine, according to an analysis by Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Center for Studies. strategic and international on international security. program. The Biden administration says it has pledged to send about 5,500 people to Ukraine since the Russian invasion more than two months ago.

Analysts also estimate that the United States has sent about a quarter of its stockpile of shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes told investors last week on a quarterly call that his company, which makes the weapons system, would not be able to ramp up production until next year by due to parts shortages.

“Could that be a problem? The short answer is, ‘Probably, yes,'” said Cancian, a retired Navy colonel and former government specialist on Pentagon budget strategy, war finance and procurement. .

Credit: AP

Source: AP