US President Joe Biden said Lockheed Martin has encountered problems with Javelin deliveries this year.
What is known
According to data from open sources,Ukraine, along with the United States, is the largest operator of Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile systems. However, this year the lack of chips has caused problems in the United States with the supply of missiles.
Joe Biden spoke again yesterday about the importancesemiconductors for the country. The US President said he visited the Lockheed Martin plant in Alabama earlier this year. The American company could not produce Javelin missiles for Ukraine due to a lack of chips. And each missile, according to Gina Raimondo, the US Secretary of Defense, contains about 250 chips.
Biden added that the expansion of productionsemiconductor products is an important issue to ensure the national security of the state. Chips are needed not only for Javelin, but also for other weapons systems that already exist or are in development. Recall that the United States is actively testing hypersonic weapons, which should appear in 2023.
Now the US is imposing restrictions on technology exports to China and is investing in home chip manufacturing. For example, Micron will allocate $15 billion to build a new plant.