Tag: M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System

Lockheed’s HIMARS plant gearing up to meet demand after Ukraine ‘success’

Ms. Cat

Lockheed’s HIMARS plant gearing up to meet demand after Ukraine success

On an earnings call with investors Lockheed’s CEO said “on HIMARS specifically, we’ve already met with our long lead supply chain to plan for increasing production to 96 of these units a year.” Lockheed started 2022 with a HIMARS launcher production rate of 48, but has since ramped up to 60 year.

Amazed that they make them, manually! No wonder they only make 60 a year! I used to work in automotive manufacturing and we made more than 96 per day! Lots of automation and air-powered tools were involved!

New $1.1 Billion Arms Package for Ukraine Includes 18 HIMARS Launchers, as The U.S. and Europe are running out of weapons to send to Ukraine

Ms. Cat

New $1.1 Billion Arms Package for Ukraine Includes 18 HIMARS Launchers

The HIMARS that the US has been sending to Ukraine are equipped with missiles that have a range of about 50 miles. But that can change, and Kyiv is requesting Army Tactical Missile Systems, which have a range of 190 miles, but Washington has been hesitant to send the longer-range missiles. Russia has warned that providing such arms would cross a “red line.”

Related:

The U.S. and Europe are running out of weapons to send to Ukraine

In the U.S. weapons industry, the normal production level for artillery rounds for the 155 millimeter howitzer — a long-range heavy artillery weapon currently used on the battlefields of Ukraine — is about 30,000 rounds per year in peacetime.

The Ukrainian soldiers fighting invading Russian forces go through that amount in roughly two weeks.

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Is the U.S. ability to defend itself at risk?

The short answer: no.

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The U.S. has essentially run out of the 155 mm howitzers [M777?] to give to Ukraine; to send any more, it would have to dip into its own stocks reserved for U.S. military units that use them for training and readiness. But that’s a no-go for the Pentagon, military analysts say, meaning the supplies reserved for U.S. operations are highly unlikely to be affected.

Source: CSIS.

Pentagon stockpiles ‘uncomfortably low’ due to Ukraine arms transfers: DoD

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Arms makers are licking their chops as defense officials worry about shortfalls in weapons stockpiles.

Pentagon stockpiles ‘uncomfortably low’ due to Ukraine arms transfers: DoD

Related:

Ukraine War Depleting U.S. Ammunition Stockpiles, Sparking Pentagon Concern

In recent weeks, the level of 155 mm combat rounds in U.S. military storage have become “uncomfortably low,” one defense official said. The levels aren’t yet critical because the U.S. isn’t engaged in any major military conflict, the official added. “It is not at the level we would like to go into combat,” the defense official said.

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In the U.S., it takes 13 to 18 months from the time orders are placed for munitions to be manufactured, according to an industry official. Replenishing stockpiles of more sophisticated weaponry such as missiles and drones can take much longer.

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Speaking on an earnings call July 19, Jim Taiclet, chief executive of Lockheed Martin Corp., said the Pentagon has yet to put the contracts in place or coordinate with industry to buy more supplies, a process that often takes two to three years.

China’s neighbors are buying US weapons Washington isn’t delivering

Ms. Cat

China’s neighbors are buying US weapons Washington isn’t delivering

Even though the United States views these weapons sales as integral to deterring China from attacking Taiwan, some of the deals were publicly announced as far back as 2017.

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The reasons – government delays, supply chain issues and production requirements – are numerous, and the problem won’t be easy to fix, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Defense News.

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The U.S. government has approved the sale of 10 weapons systems Taiwan has yet to receive – some of which are not slated for delivery until the end of the decade.

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The United States has flooded billions of dollars in weapons into Ukraine, including items that are part of Taiwan’s backlog, such as Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and High Mobile Artillery Rocket Systems.

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For example, several Middle Eastern and eastern European countries are ahead of Taiwan in Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production queue. In 2019, the State Department approved an $8 billion Taiwan sale for 66 F-16s, but Taipei does not expect to receive the aircraft until 2026.

“Saudi Arabia is still ahead of Taiwan on the priority list in some cases,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told Defense News ahead of a July meeting with Taiwan’s Washington envoy. “We need to take a look at that.”

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Sonja Van den Ende: Russians Welcomed as Liberators in Many Eastern Ukrainian Cities Contrary to Western Media Depictions

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By Sonja Van den Ende, Covert Action Magazine, 8/10/22

Sonja is a freelance journalist from the Netherlands who has written about Syria, the Middle East, and Russia among other topics. Sonja can be reached at: sonjavandenende@gmail.com.

Sonja Van den Ende: Russians Welcomed as Liberators in Many Eastern Ukrainian Cities Contrary to Western Media Depictions

Video via sonja vandenende

New York Times columnist: Deeper mistrust between Biden and Zelenskyy than people know

Ms. Cat

Thomas Friedman wrote Monday in a column for the New York Times that there was a deeper mistrust between the White House and Volodymyr Zelenskyy than what has been reported.

New York Times columnist: Deeper mistrust between Biden and Zelenskyy than people know

Related:

Why Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan Is Utterly Reckless

The timing could not be worse. Dear reader: The Ukraine war is not over. And privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine’s leadership than they are letting on. There is deep mistrust between the White House and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky — considerably more than has been reported.

And there is funny business going on in Kyiv. On July 17, Zelensky fired his country’s prosecutor general and the leader of its domestic intelligence agency — the most significant shake-up in his government since the Russian invasion in February. It would be the equivalent of Biden firing Merrick Garland and Bill Burns on the same day. But I have still not seen any reporting that convincingly explains what that was all about. It is as if we don’t want to look too closely under the hood in Kyiv for fear of what corruption or antics we might see, when we have invested so much there. (More on the dangers of that another day.)

Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine + Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?

Ms. Cat

Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine

The new aid was authorized by the presidential drawdown authority, which allows Biden to send Ukraine weapons and ammunition directly from US military stockpiles. The funds were pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that Biden signed back in May, which is meant to last through September 30.

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Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?

So in essence, at a pace suggested by Hertling, Ukraine’s GMLRS monthly burn rate would equal about 29% of the entire planned U.S. procurement for the next five years, not withstanding production rates of the ER GMLRS which have yet to be set.

Given those numbers, what does Ukraine’s use of HIMARS portend for that nation, and the U.S., which might find itself needing these systems in case of a future fight with China, Russia or some other adversary?

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“If each of 16 HIMARS fires three rockets per day, that’s 48 a day or 1,440 per month. 10,000 rockets would last well into 2023 at that rate. On the other hand, if the Ukrainians get the 100 HIMARS they are requesting and each one fires three rockets per day, that’s 300 per day or 9,000 per month.”

Russia Invites UN, Red Cross to Probe Shelling of Elenovka Pre-Trial Detention Center

Ms. Cat

Samizdat – 30.07.2022 MOSCOW – Russia has invited experts from the United Nations and the Red Cross to participate in the investigation into the deadly shelling of the pre-trial detention center in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) town of Elenovka, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russia Invites UN, Red Cross to Probe Shelling of Elenovka Pre-Trial Detention Center

Related:

Ukraine – UN offers to investigate Elenovka prison bombing