US About to Build a Whole Lot More ATACMS
Source: Newsweek
Published May 05, 2024 at 10:43 AM EDT
The United States will soon have "a lot" of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to refill its stockpiles, allowing Washington, D.C., to provide Ukraine with key long-range capabilities without compromising U.S. arsenals, according to the U.S. Army's acquisition boss.
A "significant number" of ATACMS missiles were ordered several years ago and are "now hitting at just the right time to be able to support how we're supporting Ukraine without taking a hit to readiness," Doug Bush, the assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, said in remarks reported by Politico on Thursday. "There are a lot of ATACMS coming off that [production] line."
The Pentagon had said it was concerned about depleting U.S. stocks of the ground-launched missiles that Kyiv has said it desperately needs to fend off Russian attacks as Moscow gains territory in eastern Ukraine and slowly advances in the east. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon via email for additional information.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/us-new-atacms-ukraine-1897435