US warns Europe of delays of up to five years in arms deliveries

The United States has warned its allies that deliveries of some key types of weapons could be delayed by up to five years as Washington needs to replenish its own weapons stockpiles.

TodayPress TV reports, citing Bloomberg, that the warning was conveyed to US allies.

According to the agency’s sources, some European countries expect deliveries of key missile defence and air defence systems to be delayed due to the US war with Iran.

According to Bloomberg, Germany has asked the United States to accelerate the delivery of Tomahawk missiles and Typhon systems. However, due to depleted US weapons stocks, their manufacturer, Raytheon, is unlikely to fulfil the order over the next five years.

Two other officials also said that some Eastern European countries dependent on US-made weapons systems began experiencing delivery delays shortly after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran.

Earlier, the Pentagon inspector general said that the war with Iran had caused ammunition shortages and created difficulties in replenishing stockpiles.

The independent oversight body noted that the United States had spent more than $22 billion on ammunition between February and June, resulting in a “strategic shortage of stocks.”

The report also said that “bottlenecks in the defence industrial base” had been identified, slowing the replenishment of stockpiles.

Giymat Mahir