According to the Breaking Defense, the US and foreign armament directors will meet on Sept. 28 to discuss how the international community can keep weapons flowing to Ukraine, including how to mitigate production constraints that have surfaced since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Bill LaPlante, the US undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, will lead the first meeting of national armament directors in Brussels, which will include more than 40 members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Other US officials from the Joint Staff, US European Command and the Pentagon’s policy shop will also be in attendance.
Read more: Thanks to the USA, Ukraine Can Receive Additional Mi-24 and Mi-35 Helicopters from One of Europian Countries
The meeting “will include a call for production support for things like gun barrels, ball bearings, and steel casings,” as well as obsolescent parts and microchips, the official said. Both the US and other partner nations have previously identified shortfalls in those areas, and the upcoming meeting could provide a venue for countries to discuss potential suppliers or joint procurement of such materiel.
Aside from discussing ongoing production efforts, the official named two other major priorities:
The need for “Interchangable systems”—a term the Defense Department is using to describe off-the-shelf systems that can be modified in some way to meet Ukrainian capability gaps.
A long-term sustainment strategy for ensuring that Ukrainian equipment stays in good working order as the war proceeds
“We will also discuss what capabilities Ukraine is likely to need in the future, like long range fires and air defense, and how to posture the broad industrial base of the contact group to meet those needs,” the official said. The official declined to comment on specific technologies that could be proposed in those categories.
Read more: Ukrainian Artillerymen Show High-Precision 'Excalibur' Used With Ordinary M777 Without Additional Digital Units
