Allies push for US weaponry after seeing impact in Ukraine

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

WASHINGTON (AP) — As other nations see the impact of U.S. weapons in the Ukraine war, the Pentagon is getting more requests for them, including the high-tech, multiple-launch rocket system that Ukrainian forces have successfully used against Russian ammunition depots and other supplies, Defense officials said Friday.

Bill LaPlante, the department's undersecretary for acquisition, told reporters that the Pentagon has been working with the defense industry to increase production lines to meet both U.S. and international demands for certain weapons. And he said some countries have already begun asking about buying the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.

As a result, he said, the U.S. has to both replace the HIMARS systems it sent to Ukraine — at a projected cost so far of about $33 million — but also predict the future demands in foreign sales.

According to the Pentagon, the department is already working to replace about $7 billion in weapons and equipment that was taken off the shelves so it could be delivered quickly to Ukraine. Of that, about $1.2 billion has already been contracted, and roughly half of that was for Stinger missiles.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/allies-push-for-us-weaponry-after-seeing-impact-in-ukraine/ar-AA11EVtL

[Aristus]

1. Is it possible that we are, once again, the Arsenal Of Democracy?

[brush]

2. Nice reenvigoration of that old phrase. And it's nice that it's true and...

operational again.

[Igel]

3. And, amusing,

North Korea is the arsenal of Sovietacry ... as it sells Soviet-era munitions in 2022 to Russia. Seeking to maintain its Soviet era ... totalitarianism.

[WarGamer]

5. Did we ever stop being it?

[CanonRay]

4. If memory serves, the same thing happened in the 1st Gulf War

The Iraqis had a shitload of Russian equipment and it was shit, so everyone switched to buy our stuff. I just read a piece on the only Russian aircraft carrier and what a piece of junk it is. They are a Potempkin military.

[EarthFirst]

6. The Russian aircraft carrier; is escorted by a tugboat detail any time it's under way...

That’s how confident they are with it.

[Aristus]

7. The first Gulf War was a nightmare for tank recognition.

When I was in tanker school, the tank recognition syllabus was pretty simple. The good guys use Western-built tanks. The bad guys use Soviet-made tanks.

Unfortunately, the Iraqis fielded a crazy mish-mash of American, British, and French tanks, and innumerable Soviet tanks of nearly every model made. One of the many reasons Iraq performed so poorly on the battlefield was the lack of standardization, which had to be a nightmare for their supply units.

It didn’t help that the Syrians, who were at least nominally with the good guys, fielded Soviet T-62 tanks. This would have led to some nasty friendly-fire incidents. But I don’t remember Syrian tank units playing a significant role in the ground war.