Lockheed to Double Javelin Production for Ukraine

Editor’s note: Russia can count itself lucky here. Albeit it has provided the US an opportunity to ramp up its arm-production to drown Ukraine in, so far the US isn’t taking advantage. At least not where Javelins are concerned. Only a doubling of production is envisioned and over a very long time. Lockheed naturally doesn’t want to invest too much into capacity expansion that might then go idle if demand disappears. This wouldn’t be a problem if the US government took on that risk but so far it is not. However the real test will be what happens with artillery and drones, the truly important weapons of the war.

Source: The Hill

Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet said on Sunday that his company would nearly double production of their javelin missiles as the U.S. has sent hundreds of the weapons to aid Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.

“​​Right now, our capacity is 2,100 Javelin missiles per year. We’re endeavoring to take that up to 4,000 per year, and that will take a number of months, maybe even a couple of years to get there because we have to get our supply chain to also crank up,” Taiclet said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“We’re starting now to ramp it up because we have an active production line right now that the president saw,” he added, referencing President Biden’s recent trip to a Lockheed Martin facility in Troy, Ala.

“So we can start turning up the heat now and- and ramping the production immediately because of those circumstances,” he also said.

Last week, the Pentagon moved $1.45 billion to the Army and Marine Corps to restock Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that the U.S. sent to Ukraine.

Source: The Defense Post

Lockheed Martin is planning to ramp up Javelin anti-tank missile system production, expecting a surge in demand from Ukraine, chief executive James Taiclet announced.

Taiclet said the company is ready to invest in further production of the Javelin, the Patriot, and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and requested the Pentagon help provide “future contracts to make up the difference.”

“I went over to the Pentagon with my team and basically told the senior leadership there, ‘Look, we’re already investing in increasing the capacity, please make it right and give us the contracts and agreements we need down the road, but we’re going to start investing now,’” he was quoted as saying by Inside Defense.

He added that the company might require pre-funding for Javelin sub-contractors and suppliers to source around “250 microprocessors and other key parts.”

During his visit to Lockheed Martin's Troy, Alabama plant, Joe Biden pushed for approval of his proposed $33 billion military aid package to Ukraine by claiming Ukrainians were naming their children "Javelin" and "Javelina" after the anti-tank missile the plant manufactured. pic.twitter.com/zNPiKRjSrw

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) May 4, 2022

An estimated 5,500 Javelins have been delivered to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country more than two months ago, PBS wrote, citing the US administration.

The number rises to 7,000 — about one-third of the US stockpile — if the units provided during the Trump administration are also included.

The shoulder-fired system — with a range of 2,500 meters (8,202 feet) — costs $178,000, including the launching system and the missile, which alone costs around $78,000, according to the Pentagon’s 2021 budget.

The company is also increasing the production of counter-battery radars and guided rocket systems.