As Western arms industries enjoy the financial bonanza of the war in Ukraine, daily reports emerge of more military aid for Ukraine and also of NATO states stocking up on weapons for future wars.
Just a week ago, the Pentagon announced a further $275m in aid for Kyiv, bringing the total this year to nearly $20bn. As well as large amounts of ammunition, this most recent tranche includes new systems to detect and counter drones. It is actually smaller than recent arms packages, apparently because of an anticipated slow-down in the war over the winter months.
Even for the world’s largest military power, the rate of use of US munitions in Ukraine – much of them from existing Pentagon stocks – is straining the rate of production, so new contracts are being signed. One example is the production of standard 155mm artillery shells, which will rise from the current 15,000 a month to 20,000 by the spring and 40,000 by 2025.
