U.S. Army

U.S. Army photo by SSGT Steven M. Colvin

Readiness Problem? The U.S. Military Is Sending Its Own Weapons to Ukraine

Last updated 04:41 AM EDT • Read time: 3m

U.S. Army photo by SSGT Steven M. Colvin

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One day after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, the U.S. started sending military aid to Ukraine in waves. U.S. allies and partners followed suit, and Ukraine has been able not only to stop but push back Russian forces with Western weapons.

The American-made FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank weapons and the British-made Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW) have been a hit with Ukrainian forces, enabling them to destroy thousands of Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. Lots of other weapon systems have contributed too.

Since the start of the war on February 24, the U.S. Department of Defense has gone deep into its inventories and picked weapons for the Ukrainian military nine times for a total of $3.77 billion worth of weapon systems.

Drawdown Authority

Drawdown authority allows the Pentagon to go to its own arms stockpiles and pick weapon systems to send to Ukraine.

The U.S. Department of Defense has sent the following packages of military aid to Ukraine:

February 25: $350m
March 12: $200m
March 16: $800m
April 1: $300m
April 5: $100m
April 13: $800m
April 21: $800m
April 24: $322m
May 6: $100m

One very natural and expected question is whether the transfer of so many weapon systems to Ukraine is affecting U.S. military readiness.

“I can assure you that we are not at the point where our inventories of these systems have … or will imminently affect our readiness. We’re comfortable that our stocks are in keeping with our readiness needs. But we obviously know that, as these packages go on, and as the need continues inside Ukraine, we want to lead turn … We want to be ahead of the bow wave on that and not get to a point where it becomes a readiness issue,” Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby had said in April.

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Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has played a key part in getting all of these billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine.

As of last week, the Pentagon had a mere $100 million left in drawdown authority, making the passage of the proposed massive package of aid to Ukraine necessary if the U.S. wishes to continue to support the Ukrainian military.

The $40 Billion Package

The $40 billion security, economic, and humanitarian aid package that is currently going through Congress includes almost $20 billion for the Pentagon to use, which is almost $3.5 billion more than what President Joe Biden had asked for.

Broken down, the security aid component of the $40 billion package includes: $8.7 billion to replenish stockpiles; $6 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative; $3.9 billion to support the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and additional troop deployments there; $600 million for the Defense Production Act; and $550 million for critical munitions and exports.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the bill with an overwhelming majority, sending it to the Senate for final approval before it goes back to the White House for signatures.

1945’s New Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.