Is the US running out of Javelin missiles to send to Ukraine?

Ukrainian soldiers carry Javelin missiles at a fighting point north of Kiev on March 13 – Photo: REUTERS

According to researcher Mark F. Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) of the US, the missile Javelin has become a symbol of the conflict in Ukraine.

This type of anti-tank missile has contributed significantly to stopping the Russian advance in northern Ukraine and around the capital Kiev, creating the “shoot and run” style of the Ukrainian army.

A recent Pentagon report states that the US has shipped about 7,000 Javelin missiles to Ukraine. This number does not include the 500 missiles included in the $800 million aid package that President Joe Biden announced on April 13.

However, with only the first number, the number of Javelin anti-tank missiles that the US has transferred to Ukraine is more than the number of missiles in the warehouses of some NATO countries.

Pentagon records show that the US has produced a total of 37,739 Javelin missiles since 1994. According to Mr. Cancian’s calculations, excluding the number of missiles used in annual exercises, training and testing, the US has about 20,000 to 25,000 Javelin missiles in stock.

Thus, 7,000 Javelin missiles for Kiev is equivalent to about a third of the number of missiles of the type that the US has. While two-thirds sounds like a lot, to American military planners, this is not a safe number given the military and security doctrines that require Washington to always have a stockpile of weapons. big.

To ensure this requirement, there is no other way but to produce and buy more to add to the inventory.

On average, the US buys about 1,000 Javelin missiles each year, peaking at 6,480. The delivery time, from closing the order to receiving the rocket, is 32 months.

Thus, to make up for the number of missiles transferred to Ukraine, the US may take at least 2-3 years unless President Biden uses executive privilege to mobilize defense companies to concentrate all production.

According to Cancian, although the number of Javelin missiles provided by the US is less than the NLAW missiles that the UK has delivered to Ukraine, Javelin is still more important in terms of complexity, accuracy and greater range.

Javelin anti-tank missile jointly produced by two defense corporations Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, with an effective range of 65 to 4,000 meters. After firing, the missile will gain altitude and dive to the target to increase its ability to destroy – Photo: LOCKHEED MARTIN

In addition to Javelin missiles, Stinger air defense missiles may also be on the US Department of Defense’s list to buy in the near future.

Washington has not purchased any more Stinger missiles since 2003. According to the White House, the United States has shipped about 2,000 of these missiles to Ukraine, or about a quarter of the missiles in stock.

According to some observers, with the battlefield gradually shifting to the empty Donbass area, the weapons that Ukraine has and has been effective in the first 6 weeks will lose their advantage.

The Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly called on the US and its allies to transfer heavy weapons to the country because the combat environment has changed from urban to flat, open terrain. Therefore, the US drip delivery of Javelin missiles is not expected to affect Kiev’s military plans much.

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