US President Joe Biden signed a memorandum on the need to expand and accelerate the production of weapons and military equipment in the country.

This was reported in the White House.

“I conclude in accordance with subparagraph (a) (7) (B) of section 303 of the Act (“On Defense Production” of 1950 in the current edition.

- RT

) that actions are needed to increase the production capacity of products critical to supporting defense against aggression from rivals, and that a shortage in this area would greatly undermine the potential of national defense, ”the document says.

For this reason, the head of the White House suspends a number of requirements of section 303 of this law, which suggested that the president, in order to enter into appropriate defense contracts, must explain in writing the needs of national defense, as well as notify Congress of the shortage of certain types of products.

Such a move is being made "in order to expand and accelerate domestic production of critical weapons and technical equipment necessary for national defense," the memorandum says.

According to experts, plans to increase and expand the production of weapons should be considered primarily in the context of the destructive role of the United States in the conflict in Ukraine.

According to military expert Ivan Konovalov, Washington plans to continue supplying weapons to Kyiv due to this.

“With this memorandum, Biden, in fact, acknowledges the lack of weapons.

And we are talking not only about weapons, but also about ammunition.

The United States supplied a lot of military equipment to Ukraine, but this is not enough for Kyiv, since many copies have already been hit by the Russian Armed Forces or have become unusable due to improper operation.

Now the White House needs to make up for the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but so far there is nothing special, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

Earlier, CNBC reported that Washington was running out of weapons to transfer to Kyiv.

In particular, we are talking about 155-mm howitzers and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) Javelin.

“Some weapons that are running out of stocks are no longer being produced.

In addition, their production requires a highly skilled workforce and experience - something that has been lacking in the US manufacturing sector for many years, CNBC notes.

The TV channel also cites the opinion of a military expert, senior researcher at the US National Defense University Dave De Roche.

“I am very concerned.

If we don’t have new products that take months to build up, we won’t be able to supply the Ukrainians,” he told CNBC.

  • Ukrainian military

  • AP

  • © Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service

As the channel clarified, the pace of production in the United States of Javelin anti-tank systems, for example, is low - the United States creates about 800 units of such weapons a year, despite the fact that, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington has already sent Ukraine about 8.5 thousand copies of these systems .

That's "more than a decade of production," notes CNBC.

Prior to this, the former US envoy to NATO, Ivo Daalder, in an article for Foreign Affairs magazine, drew attention to the fact that US authorities are warning against the impossibility of providing support to Kyiv, as the stocks of weapons in the United States are declining.

Arms deliveries to Kyiv

Recall that Washington has already allocated more than $ 16.2 billion for the military needs of Kyiv since the beginning of Russia's special operation in Ukraine.

The latest $1.1 billion aid package announced by the Pentagon on Sept. 28 included 18 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), 150 HMMWV armored vehicles, radar, anti-drone weapons, and 40 trucks and 80 trailers for transportation of heavy equipment.

In addition, two days after the announcement of this arms tranche, Joe Biden signed a law providing for the allocation of about $12 billion in new aid to Ukraine, including funds for the defense needs of Kyiv.

At the same time, the Kyiv authorities continue to request new weapons from Washington.

So, on October 2, the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Andriy Yermak, during negotiations with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, “noted the urgent needs of the Ukrainian defense forces, the importance of increasing such support and getting it quickly.”

This is stated in a press release on the website of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Yermak appreciated the level of economic and defense support that the United States is providing to Ukraine to counter full-scale Russian aggression,” the message also says.

On October 4, Biden announced another $625 million arms tranche for Ukraine. The new military assistance package includes additional weapons and equipment, including HIMARS MLRS, artillery systems, ammunition, and armored vehicles and vehicles.

"It will take a long time"

As Ivan Konovalov noted, the United States will most likely focus on the production of ammunition for Kyiv in the first place.

“The weapons that have already been transferred to Ukraine by the United States are often idle because the warheads have run out.

This is a significant number of shells, since it is obvious that their consumption is very large.

It is already clear that the American authorities are not coping with the provision of ammunition to the Ukrainian side, ”the expert said.

Konovalov also believes that Washington is forced to increase the production of weapons to help Kyiv, since US allies in Europe cannot do this.

“The EU countries do not have production capacities, they do not have many weapons in their arsenals, so only the Americans remain.

In addition, the United States most of all wants the conflict in Ukraine to continue, and is ready to feed Kyiv with new arms tranches, for which they will disperse their military-industrial complex, ”said the analyst.

  • Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, during talks with National Security Adviser to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan

  • © president.gov.ua

At the same time, Konovalov believes that it will take the United States about three years to significantly increase the volume of weapons production.

“They do not have the opportunity right now to greatly increase the number of weapons.

We need investments, expansion of production, replenishment of losses in the arsenals of the Pentagon, which now exist due to supplies to Ukraine.

It is already very difficult for Washington to maintain even at the current level the flow of weapons that goes to Ukraine, ”the expert stated.

In turn, the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University.

M.V.

Lomonosov Yuri Rogulev said that, in addition to the Ukrainian issue, there are a number of reasons why Washington intends to expand and increase the production of weapons.

“The fact is that, in addition to Ukraine, the United States has become involved in a number of conflict situations that also require massive supplies of weapons.

In particular, we are talking about Washington's support for Taiwan, which has already requested more weapons from the Americans.

US stockpiles of weapons in warehouses are indeed largely used up, and now Washington intends to replenish them, ”the analyst explained in an interview with RT.

In addition, Washington needs to increase the production of weapons in order to meet its needs for certain types of weapons and be able to continue selling military equipment to many countries of the world, Rogulev said.

The US is the largest arms exporter in the world.

They supply weapons to their allies and simply to clients in a number of regions.

At the same time, these deliveries are often used as a political tool.

However, do not forget that, despite all the loud statements of the Americans about increasing the production of weapons, the creation of complex and heavy types will take a long time and considerable costs, ”the expert concluded.