The US Department of Defense (DoD) has placed almost $10 billion worth of new orders with US arms producers to replace the weapons and ammunition that were previously supplied to Ukrainian forces fighting Russian troops in the Donbas.
According to US media reports cited by Sputnik on Wednesday, out of the $26 billion in funding promised by Congress to Ukraine, the DoD spent $90.7 billion to replace its depleted arsenal of weapons and ammunition.
Lockheed Martin, RTX, formerly Raytheon Technologies, and General Dynamics stood out among the US arms producers mentioned in the report.
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According to reports, Lockheed Martin would receive a total of $6 billion, of which the company has already received nearly $2.3 billion.
Out of a potential $1.9 billion, the weapons manufacturer also received a separate $1.4 billion for its joint venture with RTX.
The additional payment, according to media reports cited by Sputnik, was made to purchase more Javelin anti-armor weapons.
In addition, Lockheed Martin anticipates receiving $1 point 4 billion of a potential $5 point 2 billion for the replacement of guided missiles for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).
The Patriot PAC-3 MSE anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems have been deployed to the former Soviet nation fighting the Russians in Donbas, and it is reported that RTX will receive a separate $844 million payment to provide the Pentagon with these systems.
To replace the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that the US armed forces currently supply, RTX will also receive an additional $581 million of a possible $624 million. Additionally, Congress has appropriated $18.6 billion to meet Ukraine’s long-term defense needs.
The report also stated that $7 billion of that sum has already been committed to US weapons manufacturers.
According to RTX, the Pentagon has committed $1 point 2 billion of a possible $1 point 4 billion for the purchase of Ukraine’s long-range NASSAM air defense systems.
Out of an estimated $1.4 billion, General Dynamics and other US defense contractors will receive $901 million for the supply of additional 155mm howitzer artillery shells to Kyiv.
The US military-industrial complex has made enormous profits over the past year, and companies that produce weapons and munitions have stated that they anticipate a rise in sales as Western countries that support Ukraine restock their arsenals.
We would anticipate that dot. a bonus dot. “As defense budgets and replenishment orders rise over the ensuing years,” RTX CEO Greg Hayes told financial analysts in 2022, shortly after Russia began its military campaign in Ukraine.
The financial advantages, he claimed, would not materialize right away. For instance, the Stinger missiles produced by the company, which along with the jointly produced Javelins by Lockheed Martin have been “very successful” in Ukraine, require an electronic redesign and new material sourcing, delaying orders for larger replacements until 2023 or 2024.
Hayes stated, “We have a very small stock of material for Stinger production.
The Department of Defense had not acquired any Stinger missiles in 18 years prior to the conflict in Ukraine.