Supply Chain Problems to Top Pentagon’s Talks With Defense Industry CEOs

Last week, UK media reported about a possible scenario where the Pentagon’s top four military industry contractors faced persistent shortages of parts and personnel over the next two years.

US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kath Hicks will host a classified meeting with chief executives of leading American arms makers, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies and General Dynamics next week to discuss supply chain-related problems, a UK-based news outlet has reported.

Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon told the outlet that the gathering would focus on ways to secure supply chains and shore up the defense industrial base, against the backdrop of “an expected surge in demand for weapons from US allies”, such as Germany and Poland, due to the ongoing Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

The news agency also cited the US Department of Defense (DoD)’s chief weapons buyer Bill LaPlante as saying that the Pentagon has “heard the concerns from industry regarding supply-chain challenges and workforce issues” and that the DoD share them.

Raytheon Chief Financial Officer Neil Mitchill, for his part, told the outlet that if he “had to boil it down to the longest pole in the tent, it's the labor issues that are pervasive throughout the supply chain.”

The remarks came after the chief executive officers of Lockheed, Raytheon, and General Dynamics made it clear late last week that the next two years will see shortages of parts and personnel continue “to dog” the US arms makers as they currently deal with orders related to Washington’s military aid to Kiev amid Russia’s special operation.

Media reports said that the leading US defense contractors have been grappling with “snarled supplies” since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which is currently being worsened by “widespread cost inflation.”

The Biden administration has meanwhile announced a new $400 million military assistance package for Ukraine, including funding to refurbish the US-made HAWK air defense missiles and sums for "training, maintenance, and sustainment."

Since the beginning of the Russian special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, the White House has committed more than $18.2 billion in security aid to the country.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington and its allies against providing Kiev with arms, something that the Kremlin says further adds to escalating the Ukraine conflict.

Russia's Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov in turn urged Washington and its allies “not to cross the red lines, which they have come close to, and stop pumping the Kiev regime with deadly weapons.”

According to him, “this will only lead to new casualties and destruction, and the further prolongation of the Ukraine conflict.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier said that Moscow sees Washington as “a party to the Ukraine conflict”, cautioning that “any weapon, and any arms shipment on Ukrainian territory" would be considered “a legitimate target” by the Russian military.