(CNN)The Pentagon has 1,300 out of 800 companies oninnovative new weapons and commercial capabilities. I am considering a proposal. The Pentagon told CNN Thursday that it could be developed and produced byUkraine for use in the fight against Russia'sinvasion.
The Pentagon wants to make decisions about which proposals it wants to pursue in the coming weeks and which proposals the US military may use in the future. The proposals requested by the
department focus on key areas including air defense, anti-armor, anti-personnel, coastal defense, anti-tank, unmanned aerial systems, counter batteries, and weapons capabilities for secure communications. increase. What was identified as an important military need by the Ukrainians.
According to the initial solicitation of ideas sent to the industry, these were sought as part of the Pentagon's broad initiative to "meet Ukraine's priority security assistance needs". .. The goal is to get ideas and information to speed up production and build more capacity across the industrial base. This is because it is widely accepted that the United States and its allies are likely to support Ukraine long after the existing arms stocks are exhausted.
This is because the Pentagon continues to transfer billions of dollars in weapons. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the United States would soon announce another $ 800 million in new aid, including air defense systems and offensive weapons. So far, the United States has promised Ukraine $ 6.1 billion in security assistance since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The United States is working with more than 50 other countries to identify the weapons it can offer. Ukrainian troops are familiar with these systems and do not require training, so it has been preferred for these countries to provide Russian-made weapons to their arsenals. However, as the war progressed, more sophisticated weapons were provided and the Ukrainian army was trained on the western weapons system of neighboring countries
The Pentagon's plans for potential new production contracts were military. Look for potential deliveries ranging from less than 30 days to more than 6 months, reflecting the urgency of the situation. The department also requires companies to elaborate on the types of aerial, land, or maritime platforms on which their weapons may be deployed, and whether any are already in production.
"In particular, the Pentagon has been able to accelerate production, export and deploy quickly with minimal training, and across the entire industrial base of weapons and equipment that has proven to be effective on the battlefield. We are looking for options to build more capabilities. " The Pentagon said in a request for ideas to the industry.
This effort is a follow-up to the Pentagon meeting with eight of the largest defense contractors earlier this year, and in addition to ongoing drawdowns and system relocations, Congress on weapons purchase contracts. Approved by. From US military stockpiles.
The Pentagon has introduced a detailed bureaucracy to assess the needs of Ukraine and seek to accelerate their supply. A new "advanced integration group" of senior bureaucrats reviews the latest operational needs of Ukraine.
Funding could come from the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative, which could cost nearly $ 1 billion to contract Ukrainian weapons. Approximately $ 240 million has been contracted for everything from Switchblade drones to secure communications devices.
