So it turns out that it’s not just the U.S. Army that’s running out of munitions. The Navy is too, or at least it’s saying so. “The supply chain must continue to flow uninterrupted so our sailors are able to defend themselves” and their ships, Admiral Daryl Caudle, head of the Fleet Forces Command, said in a statement to Bloomberg News yesterday. “Corporations that have multibillion-dollar contracts must be held accountable for the goods and services they’ve been paid to deliver. Failure to do so is something that should be unacceptable to not only Navy leadership but the American taxpayer.”
Caudle met Feb. 15 with representatives of six companies—including Raytheon Technologies Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.—"to identify issues impacting the timely production and delivery of much-needed ordnance,” Captain Dave Hecht, a spokesman for the command, said in a statement. The munitions shortage is “being felt across the Navy, and while the issue doesn’t currently prevent the service from executing its mission, the problem if not resolved, could have major readiness impacts to our long-term national security,” Hecht said. Caudle is frustrated, in particular, over delays in delivery of the SM-6 anti-air/anti-ship missile and the Mk48 torpedo.
