US weapons makers struggling with rising arms demands
The US arms industry is striving to keep up with demands for weapons and ammunition for use in the Middle East conflicts, amid speculations of lingering wars in the region and beyond.
According to senior US officials and industry executives, arms makers have increased shifts and hired extra workers.
"It's a huge growth area for us," one executive with a US arms maker told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "Everyone in the region is talking about building up supplies for five to ten years. This is going to be a long fight" against Daesh (ISIL).
Lockheed Martin Corp. has added a third shift at its plant, which employed 325 workers as of February, and is now at "maximum capacity," according to one executive familiar with the issue.
The aerospace giant announced in February that it would add 240 workers by 2020 and expand the facility, which also produces a 2,000-pound air-to-surface stealthy missile.
It builds its 100-pound Hellfire air-to-ground missiles at a 3,863-acre highly secured facility surrounded by woods and horse pastures.
Reuters also quoted Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's chief arms buyer as saying that they are working with Lockheed, Raytheon Co and Boeing Co. to ramp up production of precision munitions and potentially add new capacity.
"We are watching that closely. We are looking at the need to increase capacity," Kendall said. He, however, noted that US manufacturers had been "very responsive," but some facilities were already reaching maximum capacity and it would take years for firms to make necessary expansions.
Other US weapons manufacturers are also set to benefit from the war on ISIL in the long run, as they produce most of the vehicles now being used by the Takfiri group.
The US-led military action against purported Daesh positions in Iraq started in June, 2014. A similar coalition launched airstrikes in Syria one month later.
The terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Syria and Iraq. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.
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