US to Expedite Arms Sales to Allies, Partners With Aim of Outcompeting China - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will speed up its arms sales to allies and partners by removing several bureaucratic road bumps that could cause delays in order to better compete with countries such as China, the Wall Street Journal reported citing US defense officials.

The report said on Friday that the Defense Department launched an initiative to streamline US arms sales to foreign countries, especially to allies and partners that have provided military equipment to Ukraine.

The United States promised European allies who have provided military equipment to Ukraine that it would be able to replenish their stocks, but the US defense industry is facing a backlog, the report said.

The United States could speed up arms sales by having US defense officials help countries draft initial requests for military equipment that would help avoid delays caused by requests that trigger security concerns, the report said.

The Defense Department only approves contracts once a year for certain military equipment, which means countries that fail to submit their orders by the Defense Department's deadline must wait until the following year, the report added.

However, the State Department is currently consulting with the Defense Department on this matter in light of the mission to speed up arms sales to allies, according to the report.