If that aid bill was passed a month ago it would have made no difference. Unless the munitions were sitting in a warehouse in Poland they couldn’t have gotten there in time. The munitions aren’t in Europe. The 155mm the Ukes needed last week to save Avdiivka is raw steel and explosives sitting in a warehouse in Texas waiting to be processed into artillery shells. If we borrow the $61B and send it to Ukraine, the Ukes can defend themselves by throwing stacks of hundred dollar bills at the attacking Russians.
Hmm.
a. US artillery ammo might be sitting in Poland (some almost certainly is).
b. The high value stuff like GMLRS/GLSDB, Patriot, AMRAAM (for NASAMS), is normally flown in.
c. Much of it (artillery ammo), is probably in NATO stocks owned by, say Poland, and the Poles would be happy to ship theirs if they know backfill is definitely on the way.
Well, it looks like your math is a little off and your geography more so. 336,000 rounds a year.
Steel from Ohio made into shells in Pennsylvania, explosives from Virginia and Tennessee; assembled in Iowa.
They are looking at building a shell factory in Canada (because who doesn’t want their ammo supply under the control of a foreign socialist government) with final assembly in Kansas and Arkansas. They do talk about a facility to be built in suburban Dallas.
https://www.army.mil/article/271572/strengthened_army_industrial_base_doubles_artillery_production
I thought the Tennessee facility had been closed; surprised to see it still in business. I wonder if the planned Arkansas location is the place where they make all the hand grenades.
Here you go, 800,000 rounds just sitting around waiting for the Ukes to need them:
“According to the Czech President, the country’s representatives managed to find about 500,000 155-mm artillery shells and 300,000 122-mm shells abroad.”
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4218218/posts?page=1