Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the U.S. may find it “challenging” to equip itself with weapons systems and help Ukraine in its fight against Russia if weapons manufacturers cannot ramp up production in the next six months to a year, Defense One reported Wednesday.
“With regards to deliveries of weapons systems for the fight in Ukraine…Yeah, that’s always a concern for us. And we monitor that very, very closely. I wouldn’t say we’re quite there yet, but if the conflict does go on for another six months, for another year, it certainly continues to stress the supply chain in ways that are challenging,” Del Toro told reporters at a conference in Arlington, Virginia.
He said Kathleen Hicks, deputy defense secretary and a two-time Wash100 awardee, has been collaborating with the defense industry to identify the challenges facing the companies and help them boost production.
“It’s obvious that you know, these companies have a substantial pipeline for the future,” Del Toro said. “They now need to invest in their workforce, as well as the capital investments that they have to make within their own companies to get their production rates up.”
Supplies are mainly coming from U.S. Army repositories rather than from the Navy, the article said.
