Northrup to Build Munitions Plant Inside Ukraine

Northrop’s coproduction agreement is the first publicly acknowledged deal between a US defense prime and the Ukrainian government for a manufacturing project inside Ukraine.

I am no Sun Tzu, but isn’t a bit odd that while a war is going on that rebuilding and new plant manufacturing commence? It would seem to be a prime target of the enemy.

So after Biden and his latest $60 Billion slush fund approved by congress, and Americans are assured this will be great for jobs jobs jobs here, we find the jobs are there there there.

But but but you said this was how it was going to work-

Mitch McConnell back in 2023 when he was still somewhat functional:

“No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. We’re rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think it’s wonderful that they’re defending themselves,” he said on CBS’s Face the Nation.

From Bunks previous post:

Biden Pathetically Changes War Message; sells Ukraine Funding by Appealing to Profit Motives

Thus the White House now appeals to the old time give away of big bucks for the home town. Jobs Jobs Jobs to the locals to crank up the killing machine.

They even dusted off Mitch McConnell to make to “Face the Nation” for his pitch for the war.

Biden awkwardly pivoted to the supposed economic benefits that will come from borrowing even more money and shoveling it into the coffers of weapon manufacturers: 

“We send Ukraine equipment sitting in our stockpiles. And when we use the money allocated by Congress, we use it to replenish our own stores, our own stockpiles with new equipment. Equipment that defends America and is made in America. Patriot missiles for air defense batteries, made in Arizona. Artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas. And so much more.”

Last gasp effort. Behold the vast Military Industrial Complex.

 

After reading the whole thing, I find it obscene.

Here we go:

EUROSATORY 2024 — Northrop Grumman plans to produce medium caliber ammunition inside Ukraine under a project bankrolled by Ukrainian dollars, a company official said today.

Although several European defense firms have committed to large-scale manufacturing programs inside Ukraine’s borders, Northrop’s coproduction agreement is the first publicly acknowledged deal between a US defense prime and the Ukrainian government for a manufacturing project inside Ukraine.

“We’ve been working, as you know, in Ukraine to produce medium [caliber munitions]. That’s our first project that’s paid for with Ukrainian dollars. We are looking to expand that into tank ammo, 155 mm, others as we find innovative processes,” said Dave Bartell, director of international business for Northrop’s defense systems sector.

The acknowledgment of the agreement occurred during an exchange between Bartell and Stanley Brown, the State Department’s principal deputy assistant secretary for the bureau of political-military affairs, during Brown’s speech at the Eurosatory arms show in Paris.

Bartell did not elaborate on the coproduction plan, and Northrop declined to comment for this story. 

Building Production Inside Ukraine

US defense firms have lagged behind their European counterparts in forging coproduction agreements inside Ukraine. Earlier this month, Germany’s Rheinmetall acknowledged plans to open a Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle manufacturing plant in Ukraine “in the near future” and said it is in talks with Ukrainian suppliers on a new joint venture for in-country production of artillery ammunition.

Also this month, Franco-German manufacturer KNDS and Ukrainian firm KZVV signed a contract for production in Ukraine of 155mm artillery shells.

Earlier US coproduction efforts to support Ukrainian needs typically centered on efforts to produce US weaponry within the borders of NATO allies in Eastern Europe — such as a 2023 deal between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to build Javelin anti-tank missiles in Poland — and stopped short of manufacturing arms inside Ukraine, which would be considerably more vulnerable to attack by Russia. 

However, in recent months, the US government has stepped up efforts to work directly with Ukraine’s defense sector. In December, the White House held a Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference that included 350 representatives from the US and Ukrainian governments along with their respective defense industries, which resulted in the countries signing a Statement of Intent on Co-production and Technical Data Exchange to address Ukraine’s urgent needs on munitions production, air defense systems, and repair and sustainment. 

….The Ukraine Defense Enterprise Program program, which was announced in May, will draw from Foreign Military Financing dollars in the $60.8 billion Ukraine supplemental funding bill passed in April, as well as funding from previous defense budgets, Inside Defense reported.

Keep reading

Though I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Let us not forget what else all of this gets us:

Ukraine-Israel Bill Included 3.5 Billion to Fast Track Mass Migration From the Middle East

May 1, 2024 

And finally, the coup de grace

They’re Back! Clinton Global Initiative to Launch Network to Provide ‘Humanitarian Aid’ to War-Torn Ukraine.

September 19, 2023

According to the Associated Press, the Clinton Global Initiative will be launching a new network dubbed CGI Ukraine Action Network:

CGI plans to announce the launch of the CGI Ukraine Action Network, as well as numerous financial pledges, to support nonprofits working in the country.

The CGI Ukraine Action Network is the result of a collaboration between Hillary Clinton and Olena Zelenska, first lady of Ukraine, that began last year. The new organization, which will be formally announced Tuesday, is designed to mobilize existing CGI partners, as well as new leaders from around the world, to create and finance new commitments for Ukrainians, according to CGI. Numerous monetary commitments for Ukraine are also set to be announced Tuesday,

In 2022, CGI announced more than 140 commitments, including a $1 billion plan from Water.org, co-founded by actor Matt Damon, to help 100 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America get lasting access to water and sanitation. This year, leaders including World Bank President Ajay Banga, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres and Ford Foundation CEO Darren Walker, will attend and make their own commitments, which are required for attendance at the conference.

And that indeed is the best of the swamp.