U.S. officials are calling for a solution to the country’s shortage of various critical munitions, including Javelin, which America is handing over to Ukraine, as well as those related to supply chain challenges.

This was addressed in an interview with US officials to Defense News.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has urged Biden to begin tackling the immensely complex task of keeping pace with current demand for increased munitions development while untangling a host of thorny supply chain issues.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., noted on the Senate floor last week that roughly 5,000 javelin missiles that the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine account for one-third of the U.S. stockpiles.

The United States has also shipped over 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, which accounts for a quarter of the total stockpiles.

“This is a wake-up call, and not just about our ability to support the current fight,” said McConnell. “Ukraine’s expenditure rate of critical munitions should cause us to question whether our own wartime requirements for weapons systems and munitions are sufficient.”

The American politician mentioned that defense manufacturers have admitted that the production lines for some critical components have dried up and it could be years before they could replace weapons that were shipped to Ukraine.

Production capacity

Lockheed Martin’s facility in Troy, Alabama serves as a final assembly line for missiles, where approximately 600 employees are producing systems such as Javelins and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system.

The weapons manufacturer started expanding its facility in Troy in 2019, but much like its competitor Raytheon, it will not be able to begin replenishing U.S. stockpiles of Stinger missiles until 2023.

Lockheed Martin could face similar challenges as it seeks to backfill the Javelins transferred to Ukraine.

“We have the ability to meet current production demands and are investing to increase capacity and production to meet our customers’ future needs,” shared the Lockheed Martin spokesperson.

With the Ukraine war threatening to drag on for months or years and increased Javelin demand from other countries, as well as the need for the U.S. and its allies alike to replenish weapons they’ve already sent to Ukraine, Lockheed Martin will indeed face a surge of future needs.

“It’s been a very effective system, and they’re asking for more, obviously,” Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet, told the Atlantic Council last week. “What our goal is going to be down in Troy is to expand the production capacity of those sites.”

He noted that “we’re going to invest ahead of need.”

Taiclet has admitted that pandemic-related supply chain problems have also affected Lockheed Martin when it comes to producing major weapons systems such as the F-35 fighter jet.

Previously, on Tuesday, May 3, US President Joe Biden visited the Lockheed Martin facility in Alabama, which is manufacturing the Javelin anti-tank missiles that the U.S. is steadily providing to Ukraine with almost legendary success.

In Alabama, Biden called on Congress to adopt an additional package of assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible and to replenish the arsenal of weapons of the allies that are providing arms to Ukraine.