US Military Has 20 Year Deficit in Munitions, Says Retired Rear Admiral

Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery says the US should be able to quickly ramp up weapons shipments to Ukraine despite the shrinkage of the American military industrial base in recent decades.

The US Army plans to spend more than $1.3 billion on Patriot missiles for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, and has quietly quadrupled its overall purchase target for the air defense weapon that has proven critical not just for Ukraine but also for US forces in the Middle East.

On April 16, a panel of high-ranking Army officials who recommend armament requirements raised its buying plan for the most advanced Patriot interceptor to 13,773 from 3,376, according to documents accompanying the service’s fiscal 2026 budget request. The panel sets requirements but those don’t automatically translate into hard budget numbers or near-term contracts.

Lawmakers are crafting policy and funding bills for the Defense Department that could take those projections into account.

The new figure signals the Army’s commitment to the Patriot missile, which is under increasing demand as the US and its allies and partners seek to bolster air and missile defenses. The latest model — the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement or PAC-3 MSE, made by Lockheed Martin Corp. — can intercept drones, cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles. L3Harris Technologies Inc. provides the solid rocket motor.

Ukraine has relied heavily on Patriot batteries and missiles, known as interceptors, from the US and allies to defend its population centers against Russian assaults. The US has provided Ukraine with three Patriot batteries and an unspecified number of interceptors since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Trump said the US “is not paying anything” for the potential supply of the new batteries, which he said will be financed by the European Union. Last week he said it would be NATO that will pay for “those weapons, 100%.” A single Patriot battery system could cost more than $1 billion with missiles an additional around $4 million each.

The US wants to make a lot more weapons available to Ukraine, but also wants other, non-US funding, according to a senior NATO official, who asked not to be identified in order to speak more freely. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization would play the role of a coordinator with individual member states making the purchases, the person said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is going to meet with Trump on Monday during a two-day visit to Washington after they spoke by phone on Thursday. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is also due in the US capital. Berlin is in talks with the Trump administration to provide Ukraine with two additional Patriot systems and cover the full costs for the much-needed deliveries.

The move signals a change of heart for Trump, who had held off approving any new weapons shipments to Ukraine since the start of his second term. Instead, he had sought to coax Putin to the negotiating table, arguing that he could get a halt to the conflict where Biden had failed.

Trump had previously refused to consider seeking additional funds, arguing that it would only harden Putin’s stance and dim chances to end the fighting.

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