![]() ![]() In an effort to address the munitions shortage, the proposed budget includes $19.2 billion for modernizing facilities "that support readiness improvements," as well as increasing production of naval and anti-strike missiles, in an aim to support the country and its allies through this "decisive decade." The more constrained the ammunition supply, the more severe the effect."Įarlier this month, the Biden administration proposed a record-breaking $842 billion budget for the Department of Defense. This would have an adverse battlefield effect. "Ukraine will never run out of 155 mm ammunition―there will always be some flowing in―but artillery units might have to ration shells and fire at only the highest priority targets. With the front line now mostly stationary, artillery has become the most important combat arm," according to a report by The Center for Strategic and International Studies. Now, as tensions rise among global superpowers, production and munition limitations in the US - caused by supply chain shortages, as well as Cold War-era reductions in capacity, The Times reported - have become of grave concern among defense professionals. While there was a brief precision missile shortage in 2016 following fights in Libya and Iraq, The Times reported, the US has largely been engaged in short-term, high-intensity fights such as the Persian Gulf War, or prolonged, lower-intensity missions like the war in Afghanistan, which allowed for the stockpile to be rebuilt as needed. The United States has rarely seen production shortages in ammunition and missiles to the degree the country currently faces. ![]() "Ammunition availability might be the single most important factor that determines the course of the war in 2023," US defense experts Michael Kofman and Rob Lee wrote in December for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, adding that Ukraine will depend on international stockpiles and production for access to the ammunition it needs. US officials in January proposed a production increase up to 90,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition each month to keep up with demand. The Times added that Raytheon, the company that helps make Javeline missile systems, said it would take five years at last year's production rates to replace the number of missiles sent to Ukraine in the last ten months.Ĭurrently, the US produces just over 14,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition every month - and Ukrainian forces have previously fired that many rounds in the span of 48 hours, The Washington Post reported last month. ![]() In fulfilling those promises, The New York Times reported the US has sent Ukraine so many stockpiled Stinger missiles that it would take 13 years of production at recent capacity levels to replace them. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |