American Factory Supplying Ammo to U.S., Ukraine is Apparently Reliant on Foreign Tech
A new domestically-based plant supplying arms to the U.S. and Ukraine is filled almost entirely with foreign technologies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday
A new factory built by defense contractor General Dynamics in Texas is playing a key role in producing the needed armaments, but it is nearly totally reliant on foreign-provided technology and machinery, underscoring the U.S.’ increasing reliance on the international community to revamp domestic weapons production, according to the WSJ. The Biden administration is spending billions of dollars to quickly boost arms production amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and a commitment to supply weapons to Kyiv — and to restock the U.S.’ own military stockpiles.
“Without the support from Turkey, this facility would be empty,” U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said during a recent tour of the factory, according to the WSJ.
General Dynamics tapped Repkon, a Turkish-based defense contractor, to supply hydraulic presses critical in the production of artillery shells, according to the WSJ. The Biden administration is seeking to ramp up shell production from roughly 30,000 to 100,000 by the end of 2025, and the General Dynamics Texas plant would account for roughly half that total.
The Turkish company provided the presses because no U.S.-based supplier would have been ready in time to get the plant operational within the next two years, according to the WSJ. Robotic and automated machines in the factory are supplied from Germany by the manufacturer Kuka, which was bought out in 2016 by Chinese-based company Midea, according to the WSJ. (Read more from “American Factory Supplying Ammo to U.S., Ukraine is Apparently Reliant on Foreign Tech” HERE)
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