An Operation Warp Speed for Weapons and Ammunition?

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, while in Brussels earlier this week, that the West hopes better training will help Ukrainian forces to use less ammunition and artillery in defending against Russia’s attacks.  Russia is already using up to four times as many artillery shells as Ukraine, but somehow we think better training is the answer for Ukraine.¹  This is silly.  Better training is always good, but why can’t we get ammunition and artillery to Ukraine? 

It has been obvious since May or June of last year, if not before, that Ukraine needed ammunition and lots of it.  If we didn’t have enough, why weren’t we entering into contracts with suppliers last summer, so they could open plants, buy machinery, and hire workers to produce more ammunition?  If President Biden didn’t realize it, why didn’t the Pentagon tell him?

If we still can’t produce the ammunition that Ukraine needs, and that we need to replenish our inventories, then maybe it’s time for an Operation Warp Speed for ammunition and weapons.  Because it’s not just for Ukraine; it’s for us and for the other countries we have to defend in order to defend ourselves.
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¹ Henry Foy, “Nato states in ammunition race with Moscow,” Financial Times, February 14, 2023.