Whoops, the U.S. Sent So Many Missiles to Ukraine That It Depleted Its Own Stockpiles

The United States, Poland, and Estonia have sent Javelins to Ukraine, weapons that all three countries will eventually need to replace. The Javelin missile, first issued in the mid-1990s, is still in production. To replenish those stockpiles, Lockheed Martin is set to ramp up production of the Javelin from 2,100 a year to 4,000 missiles a year. Although that sounds like a lot of missiles, it would still take two years at that rate just to backfill America’s Javelin inventory. The company will also require additional time to set up the supply chain to provide parts for the missiles, no small feat considering the global shortage of semiconductors, which the Javelin’s guidance system is reliant upon.

Another lag in the schedule is a lengthy delivery time, which is currently 32 months— meaning missiles are delivered 32 months after the missiles are ordered. Unless this is shortened by boosting production, it will take nearly three years for the first new missiles to get to troops in the field.

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Production Of In-Demand Javelin Missiles Set To Almost Double:

One potential pitfall in the ability to rapidly ramp up production of Javelins has been the availability of microchips and semiconductors, provided through subcontractors, mainly in Asia. Each missile contains upward of 200 of these components.

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Although the Pentagon has said it’s “actively negotiating” a new Stinger contract, manufacturer Raytheon has admitted that shortages of parts and materials could mean that it’s not able to actually produce these new missiles until 2023 or later. The DoD hasn’t bought new Stingers in many years and is now looking to replace it with a new missile, but that doesn’t help in the near term with diminishing stockpiles.