Washington - European governments have approached the US government and defence contractors with a shopping list of arms including drones, missiles and missile defences as the Russian invasion of Ukraine drives renewed demand for US weaponry.
Germany, which is nearing a deal for 35 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 jet fighters, has inquired about systems to defend against ballistic missiles, sources familiar with the situation said.
Meanwhile, Poland urgently wants to purchase sophisticated Reaper drone systems from the United States, a Polish government official said this week.
Requests are also coming in from other countries in eastern Europe, where allies are keen to acquire weaponry that Ukraine has successfully used against Russia forces, two people familiar with the demand said, including anti-aircraft Stinger missiles and anti-tank Javelin missiles.
The inquiries comes as countries in Europe boost defence budgets to meet an increasingly uncertain security outlook, with Germany, Sweden and Denmark among those promising a sharp increase in spending.
European allies are “doubling down” on their defence spending, Mara Karlin, a Pentagon assistant secretary of defence, said last week after a congressional hearing where she spoke of “Russian aggression that threatens the territorial integrity of Europe.”
Since the sale of arms by US contractors to foreign governments requires US approval, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Administration is having weekly meetings of its European Crisis Management Team to review specific requests related to the current situation in Ukraine, a source said.
To speed up US government approval for sales and transfers of arms produced by American defence contractors, the Pentagon has re-established a team to respond to the increased demand.
“The Department of Defense is exploring options to support Ukraine's needs, rapidly replenish US inventories and backfill depleted stocks of allies and partners,” a senior Defense official said, adding that the Pentagon was working with contractors on ways to “mitigate supply chain constraints (and) accelerate production timelines.”
Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin Corp jointly produce Javelins, while Raytheon makes Stingers.The potential for a surge in sales of all types of weaponry since the invasion began February 24 has lifted Lockheed stock 8.3% and Raytheon shares 3.9%.
Reuters