Soon after the announcement of the largest to date military assistance package for Ukraine, the Pentagon is seeking to make good use of these funds, allocating a significant part to provide Ukraine with much-needed long-range artillery systems.
"We have received nearly $400 million dollars to replenish HIMARS and GMLRS in DOD stocks," said William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, as he and his colleague paid a visit to Lockheed Martin facilities in Camden, Arkansas. "In addition, we are planning nearly $200 million to expand and accelerate production and are anticipating contract awards this fall and early next year."
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As two Pentagon officials arrived at the plant where the rocket launchers and respective rockets are manufactured on August 29, LaPlante said the U.S. Department of Defense was "working with industry to accelerate production of critical weapons and systems."
"This includes providing funding to buy more equipment, expand production lines and support additional hiring and workforce development," the official added.
So far the United States have committed 16 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems for Ukraine. As for the amount of ammunition, the exact numbers are not disclosed, however keeping the "steady stream" of ammunition for these launchers to operate is Pentagon's top priority. In particular, according to Defense Express's calculations, about $400 mln allocated for the purchase of these guided rockets in early August is estimated at 2,666 to 3,809 units, or from 444 to 634 "packages" of six rockets each.
William LaPlante praised the Ukrainians for the effective use of the American-provided rocket systems to launch strikes on logistics and command and control nodes of the russian army.
As Defense Express reminds, the HIMARS and similar systems played a key role for disrupting of russian supplies in the south of the country by consistent fire control of crucial bridges over the Dnipro river, which enabled Ukrainian forces to look for a massive counter-offensive to reclaim the occupied territories.
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