No antimony from China means no artillery shells for Ukraine, NATO
Tag: munitions
Ukraine: MFA welcomes Kellogg’s nomination for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has welcomed the nomination of Keith Kellogg for the position of Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia and expressed its readiness to cooperate.
MFA welcomes Kellogg’s nomination for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
Related:
America First, Russia, & Ukraine by Lt. General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg & Fred Fleitz
Read More »CSIS Simulation Highlights Urgent Need to Strengthen U.S. Defense Industrial Base
A recent simulation conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) paints a stark picture of the U.S. defense industrial base, revealing critical vulnerabilities in its ability to support military operations in the event of a large-scale conflict. The findings underscore the urgent need for public-private partnerships, increased investment in manufacturing capacity, and reduced reliance on foreign components.
CSIS Simulation Highlights Urgent Need to Strengthen U.S. Defense Industrial Base
Good luck with that! The U.S. “defense industrial base” is beholden to profits!
Related:
Mike Gallagher says that the Pentagon Has Two Years to Prevent World War III
The Pentagon is running out of missiles. After December 1, that will be a big problem.
For Taiwan, Trump’s ‘protection’ money may mean new and early big ticket arms deals
For Taiwan, Trump’s ‘protection’ money may mean new and early big ticket arms deals
“Watch for Taiwan on the defence side to try and start engaging them on a big arms package – to do something significant, very large,” Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council which helps broker defence exchanges between Washington and Taipei, told Reuters, adding it could come in the first quarter of next year.
“But think of it as a down payment, an attention getter,” he said. “They’ll stack up several big platforms and big buys of munitions.”
The U.S. is already Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, although Taiwan has complained of an order backlog worth some $20 billion. A new order, almost $2 billion of missile systems, was announced last month.
Related:
Profile at BowerGroupAsia: Rupert Hammond-Chambers
There is No Quick Fix for Rebuilding America’s Arsenal
Washington, DC is a place of short attention spans. Political appointees have short tenures and efforts fizzle out over time.
Problems with a German railroad contract slowed US munitions to Ukraine, IG says
U.S. shipments of ammunition to Ukraine were delayed for at least two months last year because of problems with a U.S. military contract with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn railways, according to a Defense Department Inspector General report.
Problems with a German railroad contract slowed US munitions to Ukraine, IG says
How the Army goes about modernizing its crucial but aging organic industrial base
“We’ve continued to support the needs of the warfighter even without pulling our installations into the modern era,” said Stephanie Hoaglin.
How the Army goes about modernizing its crucial but aging organic industrial base
Israel races to supply anti-missile shield
Israel races to supply anti-missile shield
“Israel’s munitions issue is serious,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior US defence official with responsibility for the Middle East.
“If Iran responds to an Israel attack [with a massive air strike campaign], and Hizbollah joins in too, Israel air defences will be stretched,” she said, adding that US stockpiles were not limitless. “The US can’t continue supplying Ukraine and Israel at the same pace. We are reaching a tipping point.”
Boaz Levy, chief executive of Israel Aerospace Industries, a state-owned company which makes the Arrow interceptors used to shoot down ballistic missiles, said he was running triple shifts to keep production lines running.
“Some of our lines are working 24 hours, seven days a week. Our goal is to meet all our obligations,” Levy said, adding that the time required to produce interceptor missiles was “not a matter of days”. While Israel does not disclose the size of its stockpiles, he added: “It is no secret that we need to replenish stocks.”
…
The Israeli military claimed in April that, with the help of the US and other allies, it achieved a 99 per cent interception rate against an Iranian salvo of 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles.
But Israel had less success fending off a second Iranian barrage of over 180 ballistic missiles fired on October 1. Almost three dozen missiles hit Israel’s Nevatim air base, according to open source intelligence analysts, while one missile exploded 700 metres away from the headquarters of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.
…
“We are not seeing Hizbollah’s full capability yet. It has only been firing at around a tenth of its estimated prewar launching capacity, a few hundred rockets a day instead of as many as 2,000,” said Assaf Orion, a former Israeli brigadier general and head of strategy at the Israel Defense Forces.
“Some of that gap is a choice by Hizbollah not to go full out, and some of it is due to degradation by the IDF. . . But Hizbollah has enough left to mount a strong operation,” Orion added. “Haifa and northern Israel are still on the receiving end of rocket and drone attacks almost every day.”
…
“During the October 1 attack, there was a sense the IDF reserved some Arrow interceptors in case Iran fired its next salvo at Tel Aviv,” said Ehud Eilam, a former researcher at Israel’s Ministry of Defence. “It’s only a matter of time before Israel starts to run out of interceptors and has to prioritise how they are deployed.”
Dana Stroul wrote the article that I previously posted back on September 28th.
Previously:
Israel and Hezbollah Are Escalating Toward Catastrophe (it’s not looking good for the IOF)
U.S. to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel + More Updates
Army races to widen the bottlenecks of artillery shell production
Army races to widen the bottlenecks of artillery shell production
The U.S. Army has started diversifying its supplier base for 155mm artillery shells, moving away from the bottleneck of a single source that has endangered the flow of fresh ammo, according to a top service official.
The service is racing toward a goal of shoring up all major single sources that provide parts or materials for 155mm munitions by the end of 2025.
…
The Pentagon is investing billions of dollars to increase the capacity of 155mm munition production as it races to replenish stock sent to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, which began in early 2022, and to ensure the U.S. has what it might need should conflict erupt across multiple theaters at once. The Army planned to spend $3.1 billion in FY24 supplemental funding alone to ramp up production.
…
Prior to the war in Ukraine, the U.S. could build about 14,400 of the artillery shells per month. But as Ukrainian forces burn through the ammunition for howitzers sent to the country, the U.S. recognized quickly that replenishment could not be done with the current infrastructure.
The service has set a target of producing 100,000 artillery shells per month, but Army officials have shared it has fallen slightly behind schedule. Even so, the Army is now producing 40,000 shells a month, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said at the Defense News Conference last month, adding that the plan is to reach 55,000 shells a month by the end of the year.
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The Army had been making 155mm shells at a single plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and a privately operated facility nearby. All of the shells were transported to one place – Iowa Army Ammunition Plant – where they are packed with explosives.
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The Army is planning to design and construct a domestic TNT production facility, which will likely be at Radford, Bush has said in the past. Once a contract is awarded, the plan is to build it in 48 months. Currently, the U.S. relies entirely on TNT from allies.
The only place that made combustible cartridge cases – Armtec Defense Technologies – was in Coachella, California, well-known for its music festival, but also for being located along the San Andreas Fault with a high risk of large earthquakes. Day & Zimmerman will produce the cases at another location in Texarkana, Texas.
…
“There [is] still the occasional single point, if you go down far enough, I’m not sure we can ever eliminate them entirely,” Bush said. “But we can build in more redundancy than we had before, which was, frankly, a very fragile setup where I could give you grid coordinates for like, four buildings in America, and if one of those, something happened tomorrow, we weren’t making anything … it definitely isn’t acceptable now, and we’re trying to get away from it.”
*SMH*
Israel and Hezbollah Are Escalating Toward Catastrophe (it’s not looking good for the IOF)
Ignore the propaganda. I’ve quoted the most relevant parts of the articles:
09-23-2024 – Israel and Hezbollah Are Escalating Toward Catastrophe
For Israel, the incentives also argue against a large-scale war with Hezbollah. After nearly a year of fighting in Gaza, the IDF is tired, munitions stockpiles are depleted, public support for Israel’s leaders is weak, Israel’s economy is suffering, and its international and regional standing have significantly eroded. And IDF military planners are well aware that Hezbollah’s more advanced fighting capabilities and sophisticated weapons arsenal would make the Gaza campaign look like child’s play.
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Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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