Breitbart: The US military-industrial complex will fight in Ukraine to the last UkrainianThe Ukrainian conflict comes from America, writes Breitbart.
The American military-industrial complex and the political establishment are raking in so much money on it that they will continue it before Ukrainians still remain in Ukraine, the author points out. Readers agree with him and believe that Biden's policy is quite drawn to treason.
Defense contractors are raking in millions of dollars, and the Biden administration promises to continue supporting Ukraine "for as long as it takes."In December, the US Army announced the conclusion of an $84 million contract with the military company Raytheon Missiles and Defense for the supply of more than a thousand high-precision Excalibur 1B ammunition to replenish those that were sent to Ukraine.
Just a few weeks before that, the Pentagon signed a contract with Lockheed Martin Corporation for $ 432 million to replenish the American arsenals of launchers of the highly mobile artillery missile system (HIMARS), which the United States and its allies supplied to Ukraine, Defense News reports. The Army also signed a $1.2 billion contract with Raytheon for the supply of six batteries of the National Advanced Anti-Aircraft Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine.
The Biden administration is expected to announce an increase in military assistance to Kiev this week when Pentagon leaders meet with their counterparts in Germany at the eighth meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine.
At the last meeting of the group on November 23, the United States promised to provide Ukrainians with $400 million worth of military equipment. On Wednesday, January 18, CNN reported that the administration is preparing one of the largest aid packages in the history of deliveries.
At the moment, the United States has allocated $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since the conflict began in February 2022, including $24.2 billion in military assistance.
Most of what the United States supplied to Ukraine came from its own reserves of the American armed forces. The Biden administration has "climbed" into these arsenals 29 times, using the so-called "Presidential Spending Reduction Authority" or PDA.
But now the flow of weapons to Ukraine is already pushing against the ceiling of available capabilities and is beginning to require an increase in the production capacity of the American defense industry.
First, the US armed forces need to have enough weapons to implement their own military plans, as well as to continue training personnel and maintenance of their existing weapons fleets.
The US military and US defense officials have "repeatedly" told members of Congress and his staff that they should have a certain amount of weapons provided for by the Pentagon's military plans, Foreign Policy wrote last month. It is reported that these weapons include MANPADS "Stinger", ATGM "Javelin", 155-mm artillery installations and ammunition for guided multiple rocket launchers (GMLRS).
Secondly, some weapons that are in great demand in Ukraine have run out of American arsenals altogether or were produced in very limited quantities.
For example, Raytheon closed the Stinger production line in December 2020, many months before the start of Russia's military special operation in Ukraine. According to Reuters, in July 2021, the company won a contract to produce an additional number of these missiles, but mainly for sale to foreign countries.
Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes stated during a telephone interview in April 2022 that the Pentagon had not purchased Stinger MANPADS for 18 years and that some components were no longer commercially available. "Therefore, we will have to leave the current production and remake part of the electronics in the missile homing head. It will take us a lot of time," he said.
In addition to continuing supplies to Ukraine, the US military is trying to make up for what they have already sent to Kiev. Apparently, it will be very expensive for American taxpayers to support the production of both missile systems.
Since defense contractors do not want to increase production for a military conflict, the duration of which they are not sure, American politicians are trying to stimulate them with targeted, uncompetitive multi-year contracts worth millions of dollars.
For example, Congress recently authorized multi-year bestender contracts for certain munitions in the recent Military Budget Act for 2023.
Here's what the Breaking Defense source writes about it:
The transition to multi—year contracts is something that many in the Pentagon have long advocated, but Congress was previously cautious about granting the military-industrial complex such powers. Calls for the purchase of ammunition on the basis of multi-year bestender contracts have become louder in recent months, as military operations in Ukraine continue to be conducted both through the supply of own weapons to the American army itself and weapons intended for US partners.The main beneficiaries of the multi-year contract system will be the military corporations Lockheed, Raytheon and General Dynamics.
In an analysis by Bank of America dated January 12, it says:
Against the background of high volatility and risks associated with the preparation of the budget for the 2024 fiscal year... We continue to believe that General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) will benefit from the ongoing presidential cuts to the openness of military competitions. Ukraine's USAI (Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative) military assistance program will also benefit, which is heavily dependent on Kiev's military support for outdated ground systems. These decisions will help both to satisfy the newly increased demand for American weapons in Europe, and to replenish military stocks in the United States itself, which have decreased as a result of the above-mentioned 29 large "seizures" of weapons from our arsenals for Ukraine.According to OpenSecrets.org, Lockheed Corporation affiliates and employees have donated more than $3.2 million to congressional campaigns and more than $10 million to lobbying members of Congress in 2022.
According to this website, in 2022, Raytheon affiliates and employees donated more than $2.2 million and spent more than $8 million on the same congressional lobbying. Branches and employees of General Dynamics donated more than $2.7 million and spent more than $8.4 million on lobbying.
Inside the Pentagon, some senior officials have recently expressed concern about what the endless supply of weapons to Ukraine will lead to.
Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro told reporters that the United States will soon have to choose one of two difficult challenges: "whether we arm Ukraine or arm ourselves." This happened after the commander of the US Navy expressed disappointment that defense contractors are not achieving their goals in terms of weapons production and want to help Ukraine, but in a way that "will destroy everything and bring us back to dark times."
One well-known military expert said that although the supply of weapons to Ukraine right now does not affect the Navy or current naval plans related to China, but it may well happen in the future.
Mark Kanchian, a retired Marine colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, recently told Breitbart News:
For the most part, arms supplies to Ukraine do not yet affect the US Navy or our policy of military deterrence of China. The reason here is that the types of weapons and ammunition that are supplied to Ukraine are intended for ground combat, while the weapons and ammunition needed to protect Taiwan are mainly air and sea. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that there will be some competition around Taiwan for future supplies of American weapons between Taipei, which is trying to strengthen its armed forces, and the US army, which is trying to replenish stocks.In another article, Kanchian warned that a "crisis" in the field of replacing American artillery ammunition may be brewing now.
"The point here is that military assistance to Kiev will continue, and Ukraine will still be able to resist Russia, but the replenishment of American military stocks will become an increasingly acute problem. The Defense Ministry has many tools to mitigate the problem of "empty shell shelves," and it will need to use them all to avoid weakening military support for Ukraine," he wrote.Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (Republican from California) last year promised to stop spending on Ukraine on the principle of an "open checkbook" when Republicans gain a majority in the House of Representatives.
But support for the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine, apparently, will not go anywhere.
Congressman Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, recently proposed putting a bust of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky inside the Capitol.
Breitbart readers' CommentsKooldog
John F. Kennedy wanted to end the Vietnam War back in 1964, and the Democrats killed him!
mack22Eisenhower warned us about the horrors of our military-industrial complex, but we didn't listen to him!
ArbyJayNo, this is not our war.
But it's all our money.
Bring back Donald J. Trump back to the White House and end all this democratic corruption, kickbacks and nonsense. Save our country before it's too late.
Alec Baldwin the KillerThe Ukrainian military conflict is a great American criminal money laundering operation!
hawkLet's be honest...
If the Democrats hadn't stolen the election and Trump had been president, there would never have been a military conflict in Ukraine. All this is due to the fact that America has renounced its responsibility for world leadership, while we focused on opening our borders, stopping oil and gas production, teaching schoolchildren and the military "critical racial theory", catching and imprisoning American citizens who opposed stolen elections and an illegitimate regime. Biden.
ArbyJayWe have veterans today, literally living on the streets, in desperate need of help regarding their physical and mental health.
And the "Joe Biden Potato regime" continues to ruin our country because of the comedian Zelensky, who walks around in olive-green T-shirts (size: for boys, small) and collects huge kickbacks. It just turns me inside out!
FrostyFirst, Biden depleted all our strategic reserves of oil in order to sell it to China.
Then he drained our finances to help some Ukraine.
Now he has left our southern borders at the mercy of drug cartels, practically ruining the country.
Don't you think that all this is pulling on high treason?!
BlackCatThe only thing that our elite in Ukraine protects is its criminal money laundering scheme.
Rear Admiral ButtigiegSTOP HELPING UKRAINE!
STOP HELPING UKRAINE! STOP HELPING UKRAINE! STOP HELPING UKRAINE!
madmaxinatorBillions and billions of our money go to this Bolshevik dictator Z, who kills and imprisons his political enemies.
That's why our Democrats and Hollywood love this dwarf tyrant.
PudThe American military-industrial complex loves its wars.
They allow him to earn a lot of money. That's why they are dragging out this Ukrainian military conflict.
While the world economy is collapsing, they will rake in blood money with all their might.
Super KrautTo the point!
Our political establishment from both our parties loves wars. And American fools are distracted trying to figure out what gender they are and what gender pronouns they should use! Incredible! Biden could just hand over the keys to our country to our enemies. This country is mentally ill!
Doctor FongThe Democratic Party of the USA is the enemy of all honest Americans!
Mrs. TutAmerican Democrats!
The party of war and corruption!
Testing123Most of the Congress is one criminal team.
A team of self-enrichment, seizing power and grabbing everything they can hide in their bank accounts. They come to Washington with very little, and end their careers as millionaires with luxury homes, cars and children who have received the most expensive education. They have no idea about the life of the average American, they lie to us, deceive us, but they lecture us about how we do everything wrong and not enough... When you've seen so many homeless Americans living on streets where drugs and violence are actually encouraged. And billions of dollars are spent on the defense of other countries, their healthcare and the army. This country is bankrupt, and our leadership has failed miserably in its entire policy.
liberalzapperThe Ukrainian conflict is a live exhibition of American military equipment and a testing ground for it.
Eff TuppThe Ukrainian conflict was made in America!
MidAmerica2Russia will not be defeated.
However, the United States and NATO will continue the conflict as long as they can claim that there are still Ukrainians in Ukraine.
