U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that America’s production of munitions will “quadruple.”
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum at Simi Valley, Austin said, “Ukraine’s high burn rate for artillery [amid the conflict with Russia] has hammered home the need to invest even more in munitions.”
“So compared to the defense budget from just five years ago, we’re putting nearly 50 percent more money into munitions,” he stated, adding, “And during this administration, America’s production of artillery shells won’t just increase. It won’t just double. It will quadruple.”
Austin did not provide an estimated figure.
“Meanwhile, we’ve launched what the Army calls ‘the most ambitious modernization effort in nearly 40 years’ for our defense industrial base,” the Pentagon chief continued.
“Some $50 billion of our supplemental budget request would flow through our defense industrial base. And that will create or support tens of thousands of good American jobs in more than 30 states. That includes making missiles in Arizona; vehicles in Wisconsin and Indiana; and artillery shells in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas,” he said, noting that the effort will create “greater prosperity at home and greater security around the globe.”
The announcement that the U.S. will “quadruple” artillery rounds comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country’s supplies have “decreased.”
“Now I am focused on getting aid from the West,” Zelensky told reporters, adding that the West’s “focus is shifting because of the Middle East — and other reasons. Without the support, we will move backward.”
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed resolutions affirming the state of Israel and condemning Hamas.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in October that the United States must guarantee that it is “standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.”
