US has a low inventory of the Army Tactical Missile Systems

WASHINGTON, US — The question of what the US government should prioritize continues to be overlooked. Currently, only a few Republicans defend the national interest in defense. The reason – more and more people insist that Ukraine be armed with modern weapons.

• US agreed to sell eight M142s and 18 ATACMS SSMs to Lithuania
• Despite rumors, US may not provide Ukraine with 300km-range ATACMS
• Poland sends LoR to buy 500 M142 HIMARS firing MGM-140 ATACMS

And while officially NATO is not at war with Russia, statements arrive that have nothing to do with such statements. The risk of an escalation of the Ukrainian conflict for NATO is incomparable to the risk of a Russian victory. This was stated by the Secretary General of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

“Many people are asking whether military aid to Ukraine carries the risk of escalating the conflict. I can say: there are no risk-free options. But the risk of Putin winning is much higher,” Stoltenberg said.

Ukraine continues to frantically demand missiles with maximum range. The most desired is the Army Tactical Missile System [ATACM] operating with HIMARS. However, unpleasant facts come to light. Officially, the US continues to question the delivery of this missile. The reason, again the official one, is that this could involve the US in a direct war with Russia.

Washington fears that some Ukrainian commander-in-chief will be tempted to launch a strike with this missile on Russian territory. But this reason also began to expire after it became clear that Ukraine did not fire HIMARS without permission from Washington.

One is left to wonder what could be the likely reason for Ukraine not receiving ATACM then. It turns out – the stock availability of the missile system. Delivering the missile, which has a range of 190 miles, would damage America’s stockpile. This was written by Politico, citing four of its sources. The sources told the publication that the delivery of this missile would harm the readiness of the US military.

Of course, official Kyiv is looking for a solution and has suggested to Washington that they get ATACM from allies, not the US. There are such missiles, even in Europe, a quick analysis shows. Poland, Romania, Greece, and Turkey for example. To the east, South Korea, Qatar, and Bahrain are ATACM operators. But Washington remains silent on this Ukrainian proposal.

However, the “red line” for Washington is quickly displaced by the real reason – a lack of quantity. Every single army must maintain a desired quantity in case of a future war, attack, raid, or regional conflict. This is exactly the case with the US.

Until now, Washington skillfully maneuvered between the Ukrainian demands and the desire of the Americans. The US military continues to point out that it is giving Ukraine what the country needs. “There are other ways to provide Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to strike targets,” the US military said.

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