US fears munitions shortage, awards $750mln production contracts

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jul 2023 09:22
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Washington is looking to replenish its depleted munitions as Ukraine is burning through US stockpiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) shaking hands with US President Joe Biden during the G7 Summit Leaders' Meeting in Japan, Hiroshima, in June 2023 (AFP)

The United States is awarding 11 American arms companies contracts worth $750 million to purchase ammunition for the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the Department of Defense said on Friday.

The announcment comes as efforts to fight Russia in Ukraine heighten amid a slow counteroffensive and Russian armed forces' ground advancements on several fronts.

"[The eleven companies] are being awarded an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract to allow USSOCOM the flexibility to procure numerous types of ammunition requirements for all USSOCOM components," said the statement, detailing that the contract is capped at $750 million.

General Dynamics, Black Hills Ammunition, Capstone Precision Group, and Sig Sauer, were among the munitions manufacturers named in the release.

Earlier this week, Washington announced a $400 million security package to Ukraine, which along with military hardware, will also include munitions,

Ukrainian forces are burning through their Western-provided weapons faster than Kiev's allies could produce, by a wide margin, US and other European media reported in the previous months. This forced Washington to tap into its strategic stockpile, which it maintains on ally grounds such as Japan, to continue the flow of weapon supply to Ukraine.

Moreover, the administration of President Joe Biden reached into the US military warehouses for more weapons, which sparked criticism by army veterans and experts over concerns that the continuous depletion of army stocks will heavily impact the readiness of American forces to engage in any sudden foreign wars.

NATO leadership on the other hand has been placing pressure on members to boost arms production, especially munititons, and raise their military budgets to record highs, despite the fact that the European Union in particular is under deep economic distress that it hasnt witnessed since the end of WW2.