According to a US official, the special task force was established in order to eliminate inefficiencies within the system.
Mounting tensions with China and the conflict in Ukraine have prompted the Pentagon to create a special task force to facilitate arms sales to Washington’s allies, a senior US defense official has told the Wall Street Journal.
So-called “The ‘Real Deal” “Tiger team”The group was formed in August in order to find faster ways of delivering US-made arms to foreign buyers, according to the outlet in Friday’s article. The new body is co-chaired by two under secretaries of defense, while also including representatives from the Pentagon’s various services.
“It’s about the mechanical steps in the process,”The official spoke to the WSJ. “How can we do a better job of bringing inefficiencies out of the system that will apply to all of the countries that we work with?”
Sources claim that this review was initiated by mounting tensions over Taiwan with China, and the need for replenishing the NATO arsenals of US allies. They were already depleted from the supply of arms to Ukraine in the conflict between Russia and China.
“The longstanding argument for American equipment is that it is the best – and it is the best,”A statement from an official “That also makes it the most expensive, it’s not cheap.”
Washington is concerned about the US’s disadvantage when it comes to competition with China or Russia due to the complicated approval processes and high prices for weapons sales. These are overseen by the Pentagon and require Congress consent.
“That slow pace can leave some countries unsure if the US really wants them as partners and risks sending countries with whom the US wants to stay close elsewhere to shop for arms,”The outlet was pointed out.
While working on removing bureaucratic hurdles inside the US, the task force could also see American officials helping foreign buyers to better formulate their requests for arms so that they won’t be too broad or trigger security concerns, a senior defense official said.
Richard Spencer, the former secretary of navy has welcomed the policy. He said that it was past time for reforms to the arm sale system. “The building has to get agility. We are sclerotic, we are arthritic, we have to get over it,”He was insistent.
However, there are concerns that the task force won’t be able to resolve all of the problems, as many of them are rooted in the way the US defense industry operates and the country’s tight labor market.
“The US defense industry isn’t designed like it was in World War II,”One official pointed it out. “They don’t produce things just because we ask them to. They have to have a contract in hand.”
Another issue that may complicate the expedition of foreign arms sales is the “worrisome” shortages of Washington’s own stocks of weapons and ammunition due to the billions in military aid provided to Kiev, the WSJ said.
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