Pushing to restock depleted US weapons stockpiles, the Pentagon has put on contract almost $2.3 billion of a potential $6 billion to Lockheed Martin Corp., the top maker of munitions that the US has provided Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, according to new Defense Department data.
Ednews informs, citing Bloomberg, that similarly, Lockheed’s joint venture with RTX Corp., formerly Raytheon Technologies Corp., is on track to receive about $1.4 billion of a potential $1.9 billion to replenish its inventory of Javelin anti-armor weapons, based on the updated Pentagon figures released Tuesday.
Lawmakers, contractors, and analysts have pressed for such data on the efforts to rebuild Defense Department inventories, a process that can stretch over years as contracts are negotiated and production lines are restarted. So far, the Pentagon has obligated $9.7 billion to replenish stockpiles, out of a total of $26 billion appropriated for that purpose by Congress.
Congress also has appropriated $18.6 billion to provide for Ukraine’s long-term defense needs. So far, $7 billion of that money has been obligated to US companies, such as $1.2 billion to RTX of a potential $1.4 billion to supply Ukraine with its long-range NASSAM air defense systems.