The United States may have to wait more than a year to replenish the Javelin anti-armor systems delivered to Ukraine, US Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said during a congressional hearing on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2022) The United States may have to wait more than a year to replenish the Javelin anti-armor systems delivered to Ukraine, US Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
"I think Raytheon is trying to really accelerate whether they can come inside of a one year period. I am not sure, I think it may take a little more time," Wormuth told the US Senate Armed Services Committee.
Wormuth added there is an obsolete part that the US government will have to figure out how to work around, such as deciding whether to work on a next-generation of Stinger missiles.
The United States has delivered some 5,500 Javelin missiles that have been allocated for Ukraine. Despite the Defense Department's assurances, the Biden administration is looking at alternative plans in case there are shortages, especially due to the lack of semiconductors given that each Javelin missile requires more than 200 semiconductors to produce.
Senator Richard Blumenthal said the United States has now distributed one-third of its available Javelin missiles, and it will take a year to ramp up to full production from the current annual purchasing level of 1,000 per year. Blumenthal estimated it could take up to 32 months to replenish the stocks. Defense contractor Raytheon said it will probably not be until 2023-2024 before they can fully replenish the supplies of both, Javelin and Stinger missiles.
The Javelin FMG-148 is a man-portable anti-armor guided missile system, manufactured by a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, with a range of up to 2.5 miles and infrared technology that allows the user to seek cover immediately after firing.
On the issue of replenishing Stinger missiles, Wormuth said the United States has not had an open production line for some time but there are still some Stingers the US military can provide to Ukraine.
