The Pentagon invited leaders from the largest US weapons manufacturers on Wednesday to discuss the industry's capacity in meeting Ukraine's arms needs, all this in preparation if the conflict further escalates and lasts years.
The Pentagon's office of Acquisition and Sustainment, the weapons buyer for the US Department of Defense, is said to be hosting the 90-minute meeting, Reuters reported.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was also expected to attend. Sources, on condition of anonymity, said the agenda for the meeting includes resupplying along with discussions on planning for a longer war. This decision by the Pentagon was made after the Russian troops regrouped and withdrew from Kyiv shifting their focus on Ukraine's east.
The capability which the Ukrainian forces displayed on the battlefield is also said to have been a major contributing factor. As per Pentagon the most useful weapons have been the smaller systems like the Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, shipped to Ukraine on an almost daily basis by Washington and allies.
"We will discuss industry proposals to accelerate production of existing systems and develop new, modernised capabilities critical to the department's ongoing security assistance to Ukraine and long-term readiness of US and ally/partner forces," a defence official told the Financial Times.
As per ABC, President Biden is set to announce an additional $750 million in weapons shipments to Ukraine on Wednesday. Just the last week the White House said that it provided more than $1.7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the invasion, including over 5,000 Javelins and more than 1,400 Stingers. The US President is also expected to use his presidential drawdown powers, which in an 'unforeseen emergency' situation allows him to perform tasks without Congressional approval such as an immediate transport of US stock to another country.
Apart from this the Pentagon has called for the re-establishment of a team to deal with further accelerating the US government approval for sales and transfer of arms and their increased demands manufactured and produced by American defense contractors.
