Through coordination with allies, the defense industrial base in the U.S. has been effective in leveraging every tool available to field those capabilities needed by Ukraine on the battlefield while managing the risks to U.S. readiness, said the Pentagon’s top acquisition official.
William A. LaPlante said his office has coordinated closely with industry leaders to shorten the lead time required to finalize contracts for new materials for Ukraine.
“And those numbers are really collapsing,” he said, adding that doing so requires attention from top leaders.
Speaking Monday at the National Defense Industrial Association’s emerging technologies conference, LaPlante said the Defense Department remains committed to supporting Ukraine in defending itself against Russia’s unprovoked invasion while maintaining U.S. military readiness.
“Every day, this is the job of the senior leadership in the Pentagon and across the national security staff,” LaPlante said. “You’re always looking at Ukraine and saying, ‘Where is the puck going to be?’ and trying to predict it.”
The Biden administration has committed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Every item that is decided and taken from the U.S. stock and provided to the Ukrainians, the chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] and secretary [of defense] go through it, and they look exactly at what is the effect for readiness. And if they think it’s any impact, negative on readiness, or increases risk … we won’t do it.”
William A. LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment
That assistance has included more than 2,000 Stinger antiaircraft systems, more than 10,000 Javelin anti-armor systems, more than 2 million 155-mm artillery rounds, and other items.
The assistance has been provisioned through drawdowns of existing U.S. stocks and through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the authority under which the U.S. procures capabilities from industry and partners.
LaPlante said Pentagon leaders are closely monitoring U.S. readiness in the process.
“Every item that is decided and taken from the U.S. stock and provided to the Ukrainians, the chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] and secretary [of defense] go through it, and they look exactly at what is the effect for readiness,” he said. “And if they think it’s any impact, negative on readiness, or increases risk … we won’t do it.”
“So, by definition, if it’s taken out of drawdown, the assessment’s been made [that] we can do it and we can manage the risk,” he said.
In response to the effort to assist Ukraine, the U.S. has ramped up production of key artillery rounds used most by Ukraine in in defending its territory against the invading Russian forces.
Earlier this month, Douglas R. Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said the U.S. is currently producing new artillery rounds at a rate of 24,000 per month and is on track to produce more than 80,000 rounds per month over the following year.
During the conference, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks unveiled a DOD initiative to field thousands of autonomous systems across multiple domains within the next 18 to 24 months as part of the Pentagon’s strategy to counter the China’s rapid buildup of its armed forces.
Hicks said as China focuses on the sheer mass of its military, the U.S. will “out-match adversaries by out-thinking, out-strategizing and out-maneuvering them,” under a strategy dubbed the replicator initiative.
“Replicator is meant to help us overcome the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] biggest advantage, which is mass,” she said. “More ships. More missiles. More people.”
Hicks said the replicator initiative will prioritize the fielding of “attritable” capabilities—platforms that are unmanned and built affordably, allowing commanders to tolerate a higher degree of risk in employing them.
Through the initiative, the U.S. will augment its manufacturing and mobilization capabilities “with our real comparative advantage, which is the innovation and spirit of our people,” she said.
LaPlante said the replicator initiative represents a bold approach to addressing the pressing challenge posed by China.
“What really is exciting about that announcement, is now we’re talking about doing something at scale,” LaPlante said of the replicator initiative. “We’re not just talking about doing something fast. We’re not just talking about doing something with a new acquisition authority.”
“We’re saying we’re going to field it at scale,” he said.
