Lockheed Martin to Expand Javelin Production Due to Urgency of Situation in Ukraine - CEO

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Lockheed Martin is going to expand its production of Javelin anti-tank missile systems even before the Pentagon orders more given the urgency of the situation in Ukraine, Chairman and CEO James Taiclet said on Friday.
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President Joe Biden will be visiting a Lockheed Martin weapons manufacturing facility next week in the US state of Alabama where they make Javelins. The Biden administration has championed the weapon as a symbol of US efforts to help counter Russia in Ukraine.
"Something this urgent, we are going to move forward ahead of need," Taiclet told an audience at the Atlantic Council. "We are going to invest in that... Javelins are saving lives. It is a game changing capacity for the Ukrainians."
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Lockheed Martin was also considering funneling financial support to many of its suppliers of components for the Javelins to ensure they could all expand their production rapidly as well and avoid bottlenecks in the supply chain, Taiclet continued.
The Biden administration has provided Ukraine with $3.4 billion in security assistance - including more than 5,500 Javelins - since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in late February, the Pentagon said in a release on April 22.
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