US arms manufacturers received $9.7bn to fill empty caches after weapons given to Ukraine

US arms manufacturers have received nearly $10 billion in new orders from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to replace weapons and munitions sent by the Pentagon to Ukrainian forces to fight against Russian troops in Donbas.

Sputnik on Wednesday cited US media reports as saying that recent figures released by the Pentagon showed the DoD spent $9.7 billion to replenish its depleted weapons and ammunition stockpiles, out of a total of $26 billion promised by Congress to Ukraine.

Among the US arms manufacturers cited in the report, Lockheed Martin, RTX, previously known as Raytheon Technologies, and General Dynamics, stood out.

Lockheed Martin, reportedly, would get $6 billion in total, of which almost $2.3 billion has already been paid to the firm.

The weapons producer has also received a separate $1.4 billion out of an eventual total of $1.9 billion, for its joint venture with RTX.

Media reports cited by Sputnik said the additional payment was for a fresh supply of Javelin anti-armor weapons.

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Furthermore, Lockheed Martin plans to receive $1.4 billion of a potential $5.2 billion to replace guided missiles for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).

RTX will reportedly receive $844 million separately to supply Pentagon with the Patriot PAC-3 MSE anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems that have been deployed to the ex-Soviet country fighting against the Russians in Donbas.

RTX will also get another $581 million of a potential $624 million to replace US armed forces supplies of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Congress also has appropriated $18.6 billion to provide for Ukraine’s long-term defense needs.

Till now, $7 billion of that money has been obligated to the US weapons manufacturers, the report added.

RTX reportedly has Pentagon commitments for $1.2 billion of a potential $1.4 billion to supply Ukraine with its long-range NASSAM air defense systems.

General Dynamics and other US defense contractors are to receive $901 million out of a likely $1.4 billion to supply Kiev with more 155mm howitzer artillery shells munitions.

The US military-industrial complex has made huge profits in the past year, with weapons and munitions manufacturing firms announcing that they expected a boost in their sales as Western countries supporting Ukraine replenish their arsenals.

"We would expect . . . a benefit ... as defense budgets and replenishment orders increase over the coming years," RTX chief executive Greg Hayes told financial analysts in 2022 after Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine.

However, he said the financial benefits would not be immediate. For instance, the company’s Stinger missiles, which along with Lockheed Martin-co-produced Javelins have been “very successful” in Ukraine, need an electronic redesign and new materials sourcing, so orders for larger replacements will not come until 2023 or 2024.

“We have a very limited stock of material for Stinger production,” Hayes said.

Prior to the Ukraine war, DoD had not purchased any Stinger missiles for 18 years.

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