US says accelerating production of HIMARS missiles for Ukraine
The United States is accelerating production of High Mobility Rocket Systems (HIMARS) for delivery to Ukraine as its war with Russia continues with no end in sight.
Senior Pentagon official William LaPlante made the comments after visiting Lockheed Martin facilities in Camden, Arkansas that produce HIMARS and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS).
"As we continue providing security assistance to Ukraine, we are working with industry to accelerate production of critical weapons and systems," LaPlante said.
US-supplied HIMARS have played a key role as Ukrainian forces continue to fight off Russia.
The Pentagon said Ukraine is "effectively employing" the lightweight mobile launchers and precision-strike munitions produced in Lockheed Martin facilities.
LaPlante added that US officials "will continue to closely consult with Ukraine on capability needs–and as President Biden has said, our goal is straightforward: The United States wants to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression."
US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he is sending almost $3 billion in new military aid to Ukraine as Russia's military operation there has gone on more than six months.
"The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty," he said.
Biden's undersecretary for policy at the Pentagon, Colin Kahl, said last week that, "We have provided them with hundreds and hundreds of these precision guided systems (supplied Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) rather than long-range missiles, and the Ukrainians have been using them to extraordinary effect on the battlefield."
The US has given billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine with the aim of “demilitarizing” and “denazifying” the country.
Since the beginning of August, the Pentagon has announced two military aid packages worth $550 million and $1 billion.
Putin has said that the US is prolonging the war in Ukraine as part of what he called Washington’s efforts to maintain its global hegemony.
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