Russia-Ukraine War: After a long period in which the US sent Ukraine extensive economic aid and many arms shipments, now there is concern about difficulties in the continuation of the aid. The Secretary of the Navy of the United States, Carlos del Torowas interviewed by the American FOX network and stated that “the United States will not be able to maintain its support for Ukraine if the arms manufacturers do not increase production in the next six months.”
Toro spoke to the American television network on the sidelines of the Naval Association conference in Arlington, and failed to respond to the comments of Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of the US Naval Forces Command, according to which the Navy may have to choose between arming itself and sending the weapons to the Ukrainian army. In this regard, del Toro stated that “the navy is really not there yet”, but nevertheless claimed that the supply chain will be very stressed, if the war does not end in the next six months. According to him, “the arms companies should invest in their workforce and also in their capital investments, this is to increase production.”
Del Toro also referred to the claim that the corona epidemic had a great impact on the weapons production process. According to him, “I’m not so forgiving towards the defense industry, I don’t forgive them for not providing the ammunition we need. All the claims about the corona virus and its effect on the supply chain, I’m not interested, we all have a hard job.” Del Toro later clarified that he works closely with the arms industry, “to motivate them and help them with the obstacles they face, to be able to increase their production rate.”
In the meantime, the Reuters news agency reported last November that the Pentagon is considering supplying Ukraine with accurate, small and cheap bombs mounted on missiles, which will allow the Ukrainian army to strike behind Russian lines. This, at a time when the military reserves of the United States and its allies are decreasing.
Industry sources said the system proposed by Boeing to the Pentagon, known as the “ground-launched small-diameter bomb,” is one of six plans to produce the new munitions for Ukraine. According to a document reviewed by Reuters and three people familiar with the program, the bombs could be delivered to Ukraine as early as spring 2023. The system combines the GBU-39 small-diameter bomb and the M26 rocket engine.
The U.S. military’s chief weapons buyer, Doug Bush, told reporters at the Pentagon last week that the military is also looking to speed up production of 155 mm artillery shells, which are only made at government facilities, by allowing military contractors to make them. Bush added that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to an increase in demand for American-made weapons and ammunition.