As the Russian invasion of Ukraine drives renewed demand for US weaponry, the European governments are approaching the Biden administration and the US defense contractors with a shopping list of arms including drones, missiles, and missile defenses.
As Russia fears mounting three weeks into a Russian invasion of its neighbor Ukraine, Poland wants to urgently purchase American sophisticated MQ-9 Reaper drone systems in the near future, a Polish government official confirmed this week and is eyeing further procurements later.
Germany, as sources familiar with the situation, said, has inquired about defense systems against ballistic missiles on top of the deal for 35 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 jet fighters Berlin is nearing.
Sweden and Denmark are also among those promising a sharp increase in spending as European countries try to boost defense budgets to deal with the increasingly uncertain security outlook.
Other countries in Eastern Europe are also sending requests to acquire the weaponry that Ukraine has successfully used against Russian forces, such as the anti-aircraft Stinger missiles and anti-tank Javelin missiles.
Pentagon’s assistant secretary of defense Mara Karlin noted that their European allies are doubling down on their defense spending worried that the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens the territorial integrity of whole Europe.
European Crisis Management Team of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Administration is now holding weekly meetings to review specific requests considering the fact that the arms sale to foreign governments by US contractors requires US approval.
The US defense deals typically take years of negotiations, approvals, and vetting.
The Pentagon has re-established its team in order to speed up US government approval for sales and transfers of the requested arms produced by American defense contractors and to rapidly replenish US inventories and backfill depleted stocks of allies and partners.
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