The Pentagon convened a meeting of its top arms makers on Wednesday to discuss the industry’s ability to support Ukraine in a protracted war with Russia, according to a defense and industry official. Today’s meeting at the Pentagon will be chaired by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. Attendees will represent Boeing, L3Harris, Raytheon, BAE, Lockheed Martin, Huntington Ingalls, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, a US official told CNN. The three main issues to be discussed are the supply of Ukraine, the supply of partners and allies as well as the supply of US stocks. As for Ukraine, they will discuss more about Ukraine’s immediate security needs, but they will also pay attention for at least two to four years. The official says the assessment is that even if the Russian troops leave somehow, there will still be persistent security concerns. They will also discuss that over time, some of what is provided will be obsolete production and new versions will have to be provided as a replacement. In terms of partners and allies, participants will discuss what might be in production or get into production that is a logical complement (especially the Patriot system). US production will become obsolete with new releases over time and they will discuss whether they are available and exportable. More about the meeting: The meeting between the defense contractors and the Pentagon, which was first reported by Reuters, took place just a few days ago, according to the defense industry official with immediate knowledge of the regulations. The official said contractors had been informed that the focus of the meeting was “industry capacity” to support Ukraine if the war continued for several years. The sense of things, the official said, is that the US “assumes that this will be a multi-year effort” in a scenario where, at least, Ukraine will not be able to build weapons safely in its own country. However, at the meeting, the official said, contractors are likely to point out the serious challenges still facing the US defense industry, including ongoing and serious supply chain problems and a lack of an affordable workforce. All of this continues to limit defense capacity at the moment and could worsen as Ukraine’s increased defense spending and contracts compete for capacity, the official said. The issue of capacity also affects the construction of critical ammunition supplies, although most is done in government facilities run by contractors. The United States has pledged more than $ 2.4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including more than $ 1.7 billion since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The United States is expected to announce on Wednesday that it is sending hundreds of millions of dollars in new military aid to Ukraine, three sources familiar with the package told CNN.
