American ammunition stocks are running low for Ukraine in its war effort against Russia, and the U.S. Department of Defense has been slow to replenish international and domestic supplies, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Consequently, the Journal reports some American officials are concerned the U.S. military's readiness could be exposed.
During the six-month war between Ukraine and Russia, the Pentagon has fortified the Ukrainians with 16 rocket launchers, or HIMARS; and thousands of guns, drones, missiles and other equipment.
Officials claim the ammunition has come directly from the U.S. inventory — depleting stockpiles "intended for unexpected threats."
From a weapons-system standpoint, the Pentagon has also sent Ukraine's military Howitzer-class artillery, which relies on 155 mm ammunition to reach targets 12 miles and beyond.
Last week, the U.S. military said it had provided Ukraine with up to 806,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition. However, Pentagon officials declined to say what percentage of the rounds were taken directly from the U.S. military's strategic supply.
The Journal quoted one Pentagon official, who characterized the U.S. military's storage supply of 155 mm ammunition as "uncomfortably low."
The same official then said the ammunitions supply "is not at the level we would like to go into combat."
The Army recently asked Capitol Hill for $500 million per year in upgrade efforts for its ammunition plants.
In the meantime, the existing ammunition contracts might not be enough to fortify the U.S. strategic supply, and also appease the Ukrainian army with fresh ammunition, according to the Journal.
Funding isn't the primary reason behind the ammunitions shortage, a source tells the Journal. The U.S. government plans to send Ukraine another long-term aid package of approximately $3 billion; and over the past six months, the Biden administration has sent roughly $14 billion of aid to the Ukrainians' war effort.
Instead, more targeted funding should go to solving the root issues of the supply problems, says Mackenzie Eaglen, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
"This was knowable. It was foreseeable. It was forewarned, including from industry leaders to the Pentagon. And it was easily fixable," Eaglen recently told the Journal.
The Pentagon cautions that global conflicts continue.
Last week, the U.S. military reportedly used a howitzer to combat an Iranian-backed group of militants in Syria.
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