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| As Ukraine Pummels Russians With Javelin Missiles |
International Military - The United States is running out of stock of new Javelin anti-tank missiles for Ukraine. Bloomberg reported this on Tuesday (7/6/2022). “The war has consumed a third of the US military's stockpile of Javelin.
In a few months, the Pentagon won't be able to ship a new one without emptying its own supply," the Bloomberg report said. The US is said to have also exhausted a quarter of its stock of Stinger portable anti-aircraft missiles, and it could take up to a year for their manufacturer, Raytheon, to restart production.
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According to Bloomberg, the already limited production of shoulder missile systems has been further disrupted by various factors, including Covid-related issues, the supply of microchips, and a shortage of skilled workers in the defense industry.
Washington has already sent some 7,000 Javelin to Ukraine, and Kiev is looking for more weapons to repel Russia's military campaign in the country.
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US President Joe Biden visited Javelin maker Lockheed Martin in early May, calling the weapon "very effective." The US and other NATO countries are providing more and more weapons to Ukraine after Russia launched a military operation against its neighbor on February 24.
The delivery from the Pentagon included about 7,000 Javelins, as well as drones, howitzers and radars. Russia attacked Ukraine following Kiev's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreement, which was first signed in 2014. Moscow later recognized the independence of the republics of Donbass, Donetsk and Lugansk.
The protocol brokered by Germany and France was designed to give breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
Russia has since demanded that Ukraine formally declare itself a neutral nation that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists Russia's attack is completely unwarranted and denies claims it plans to retake the two republics by force.
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