The U.S. Department of Defense is currently reviewing 1,300 proposals from 800 companies for innovative new weapons and trade opportunities that it can develop and produce for Ukraine to use in its fight against the Russian invasion, according to a defense official.
The Pentagon expects to decide in the coming weeks which ideas it will pursue, which will lead to possible production for Ukraine, as well as for the US military.
The proposals requested by the agency focus on key areas – including weapons capabilities for air defense, armor, anti-personnel, coastal defense, anti-tank, unmanned aerial systems, counter-batteries and secure communications – which have been identified by Ukraine as key military needs.
They were sought as part of a broad initiative by the Ministry of Defense to “fulfill the priority requests for security assistance to Ukraine”, according to the initial request for ideas sent to the industry. The goal is to get ideas and information to speed up production and build more capacity in the industrial base, as the now-accepted United States and its allies are likely to have to support Ukraine long after its own existing stockpiles are depleted.
That comes as the Pentagon continues its multibillion-dollar arms transfers. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the United States would soon announce another $ 800 million in new aid, including air defense systems and offensive weapons. So far, the United States has provided $ 6.1 billion in security assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s February 24 invasion. The United States is working with more than 50 other countries to see what weapons it can offer.
The preference is for what they have in Russian weapons, because Ukrainian forces are familiar with these systems and will not need training. But as the war continued, more modern weapons were provided and Ukrainian forces were trained in nearby countries.
The department’s plan for potential new production contracts reflects some urgency, as it seeks potential deliveries anywhere from less than 30 days to more than 180 days. He also asked companies to specify what type of air, land or offshore platform their weapons could be deployed and whether they already had something in production.
“In particular, the department is exploring options that would speed up production and build more capacity in the industrial base for weapons and equipment that can be exported quickly, deployed with minimal training and that have been shown to be effective on the battlefield,” DOD said. attracting him to the idea industry.
The effort comes as a follow-up to the Pentagon’s meeting earlier this year with eight of the world’s largest defense executives, as well as congressional approval to fund arms purchase agreements in addition to the ongoing withdrawal and transfer of U.S. military stock systems.
The Pentagon has introduced a detailed bureaucratic structure to assess Ukraine’s needs and try to speed up their delivery, it said. A new “senior integration group” of senior officials is reviewing Ukraine’s latest operational needs.
Funding could potentially come from Ukraine’s Security Assistance Initiative, which is a pot of nearly $ 1 billion for arms deals for Ukraine. Nearly $ 240 million has been contracted for areas ranging from Switchblade drones to secure communications devices.
Add Comment