The Defense Department remains committed to arming Ukraine as the country defends itself against Russia’s unprovoked invasion while at the same time maintaining U.S. military readiness, a top Pentagon acquisition official said today.
Douglas R. Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said the U.S. has undertaken a multipronged approach toward modernizing the defense industrial base while expanding production of critical capabilities.
“The U.S. Army is committed to and will succeed at maintaining our stocks sufficient for training and readiness of the U.S. Army, while also supporting our ally, Ukraine, with what they need, working as part of an international team to make sure that happens,” he said.
The Biden administration has committed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
That assistance has included more than 2,000 Stinger antiaircraft systems, more than 10,000 Javelin anti-armor systems, and more than 2 million 155-mm artillery rounds, among other items.
The assistance has been provisioned through drawdowns of existing U.S. stocks and through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the authority under which the U.S. procures capabilities from industry and partners.
In response to the effort to assist Ukraine, the U.S. has ramped up production of key artillery rounds used most by Ukraine in support of its counteroffensive operations and in defending its territory against the invading Russian forces.
Bush said the U.S. is currently producing new artillery rounds at a rate of 24,000 per month and is on track to produce in excess of 80,000 rounds per month over the following year.
“As a whole, the team is doing great,” Bush said. “We’re both modernizing our industrial base while we’re ramping up production.”
He added that throughout the war, U.S. equipment has remained highly effective in combat.
“That’s the result of decades of work by thousands of people to make sure our equipment is tested well and also that our industry partners produce it, critically, at a high level of quality,” Bush said. “Lots of countries can produce. The United States produces the best in terms of quality. I think we are seeing that, and I think that speaks well of our industry partners.”
