US Air Force Airman Megan Konsmo, from Tacoma, Wash., checks pallets of equipment ultimately bound for Ukraine. Photo / AP
The planes take off almost daily from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware — hulking C-17s loaded up with Javelins, Stingers, howitzers and other material being hustled to Eastern Europe to resupply Ukraine's military in its fight against Russia.
The game-changing impact of those arms is exactly what President Joe Biden hopes to spotlight on Tuesday as he visits a Lockheed Martin plant in Alabama that builds the portable Javelin anti-tank weapons that have played a crucial role in Ukraine.
But Biden's visit is also drawing attention to a growing concern as the war drags on: Can the US sustain the cadence of shipping vast amounts of arms to Ukraine while maintaining the healthy stockpile it may need if a new conflict erupts with North Korea, Iran or elsewhere?
The US already has provided about 7000 Javelins, including some that were delivered during the Trump administration, about one-third of its stockpile, to Ukraine, according to an analysis by Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies international security program. The Biden administration says it has committed to sending about 5500 to Ukraine since the Russian invasion more than two months ago.
Analysts also estimate that the United States has sent about one-quarter of its stockpile of shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes told investors last week during a quarterly call that his company, which makes the weapons system, wouldn't be able to ramp up production until next year due to parts shortages.
"Could this be a problem? The short answer is, 'Probably, yes,'" said Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and former government specialist on Pentagon budget strategy, war funding and procurement.
He said that Stingers and Javelins were where "we're seeing the most significant inventory issues," and production of both weapons systems has been limited in recent years.
The Russian invasion offers the US and European defence industry a big opportunity to bolster profits as lawmakers from Washington to Warsaw are primed to increase defence spending in response to Russian aggression. Defence contractors, however, face the same supply chain and labour shortage challenges that other manufacturers are facing, along with some others that are specific to the industry.
Military spending by the US and around the world was rising even before Russia's Feb. 24 invasion. Biden's proposed 2023 budget sought US$773 billion for the Pentagon, an annual increase of about 4%.
Globally, total military spending rose 0.7% to more than US$2 trillion for the first time in 2021, according to an April report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Russia ranked fifth, as its spending on weapons increased ahead of its invasion of Ukraine.
The war will mean increased sales for some defence contractors, including Raytheon, which makes the Stinger missiles Ukrainian troops have used to knock out Russian aircraft. The company is also part of a joint venture with Lockheed Martin that makes the Javelins.
Biden will visit Lockheed Martin's facility in Troy, Ala., which has the capacity to manufacture about 2,100 Javelins per year. The trip comes as he presses Congress to quickly approve his request for an additional $33 billion in security and economic assistance for Kyiv, Western allies and restocking weapons the U.S. has sent to those countries.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday he hoped quick bipartisan agreement on the security package could be reached so the Senate could begin considering it "as early as next week."
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday that America's military readiness is not dependent on one system, such as the Javelin. He said that every time the Pentagon develops a package of weapons to send to Ukraine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the department assesses the broader impact.
"It's not about counting say Javelins and being able to say that when you reach a certain level then all your readiness is gone," Kirby said. "The Javelin is an anti-armour capability, so we judge it all as a conglomerate of what's our ability to meet this particular mission set, realising that a Javelin isn't the only capability you have against armour."
Cancian, the former government specialist on defense budget strategy, said the fact that Stingers and Javelins were not included in the most recent tranche of weapons the Biden administration announced it was sending to Ukraine could be a sign that Pentagon officials are mindful about inventory as they conduct contingency planning for other possible conflicts.
The US military effort to move weaponry to Eastern Europe for Ukraine's fight has been Herculean. From Dover Air Base in Delaware, US airmen have carried out nearly 70 missions to deliver some 7 million pounds of Javelins, Stingers, 155mm howitzers, helmets and other essentials to Eastern Europe since February. Colonel Matt Husemann, commander of the 436th Airlift Wing, described the mission as a "whole of government approach that's delivering hope".
The lightweight but lethal Javelin has helped the Ukrainians inflict major damage on Russia's larger and better-equipped military. As a result, the weapon has gained almost mythic regard, celebrated with a Javelin song and images of Mary Magdalene carrying a Javelin becoming a meme in Ukraine.
Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet said in a recent CNBC interview that demand for the Javelin and other weapon systems would increase broadly over time because of the Russian invasion. He said the company was working "to get our supply chain ramped up".
Pentagon officials recently sat down with some of the leading defence contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, General Dynamics, BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman to discuss efforts to ramp up production.
The big defence contractors face some serious challenges.
Raytheon, for example, can't simply crank out Stingers to replace the 1400 that the US sent to Ukraine. Hayes, the Raytheon CEO, said in a recent conference call with analysts that the company has only limited supplies of components to make the missile. Only one undisclosed country has been buying them in recent years, and the Pentagon hasn't bought any new ones in nearly 20 years.
Sanctions further complicate the picture. Companies must find new sources of important raw materials such as titanium, a crucial component in aerospace manufacturing that is produced in Russia.
- AP
Iranian missiles hit Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Ness Ziona on Sunday morning.