US-led bloc pushes military industry to replenish depleted stocks in Ukraine
NATO arms industry chiefs were summoned to Brussels on Tuesday by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss ways to replenish stockpiles of arms and ammunition the US-led bloc has sent to Ukraine . Stoltenberg urged the military-industrial complex to ramp up production as the West lacked critical supplies.
The meeting of the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) focused on the « capacities and stocks of ammunition » in light of the conflict in Ukraine, according to NATO.
« The strengthening of NATO stocks will allow us to continue to support Ukraine », says Stoltenberg. « We must continue to work together as NATO allies and with industry to replenish our ammunition stocks and provide Ukraine with the support it needs, for as long as Ukraine needs it. «
NATO has sent massive amounts of arms, ammunition, vehicles and other equipment to Kyiv since February, with most of the supplies coming from the United States. By the Pentagon’s own admission, the United States has sent over $14.5 billion worth of « safety help » to Ukraine since the escalation of hostilities, in addition to more than $17.2 billion since the US-backed coup in 2014.
The United States is preparing another arms package for kyiv, worth $1.1 billion, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing unnamed US officials.
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Manna from the Pentagon for US missile manufacturers
However, all of these deliveries dented the United States stockpile of arms and ammunition. Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced a $311 million contract for some 1,800 Javelin anti-tank missiles. Another $624 million was allocated in May to replenish the stockpile of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
Stockpiles of 155mm artillery ammunition were« uncomfortably low », the Wall Street Journal reported at the end of August. Delivery of orders currently takes between 13 and 18 months, the Journal reported. Meanwhile, the Telegraph reported that Britain’s military industry could take up to two years to restart production of older weapons, while designing and delivering a new missile could take up to ten years. .
The US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) pointed out that the US military “not structured to fight or support a protracted conflict”, while the defense industry is « sized for peacetime production rates » and capacity expansion would take years.
