U.S. military policy under consideration may redirect arms originally intended for Ukraine and channel them back into domestic armories
The Pentagon has introduced a new policy that grants the Department of Defense (DoD) the authority to repurpose or reclaim weapons made for Ukraine, potentially diverting these arms from Ukraine and into US stockpiles. This policy shift, authored by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, allows for flexibility in the distribution of defense resources, potentially in response to broader geopolitical considerations or changing military priorities.
The Colby memo categorizes US stockpiles into "red," "yellow," and "green" categories, with interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems being in the red category. This policy change has introduced uncertainty into US arms support for Ukraine, as it could undermine the purpose of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which Congress established almost a decade ago specifically to fund weapons for Ukraine.
Last week, the chairmen of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Sens. Roger Wicker and Jim Risch, introduced a bill to create a US Treasury fund for allies to deposit money into for backing up US military equipment donated to Ukraine. However, the new policy could potentially divert these funds away from Ukraine and into US stockpiles.
The Pentagon still has nearly $4 billion of funding authority from Congress last year to send weapons to Ukraine directly from US stockpiles. Additionally, the Senate recently allocated another $800 million to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative as part of the Pentagon's annual budget legislation.
Some European countries have agreed to send their own supply directly to Ukraine and wait to be backfilled by the US. Germany has agreed to supply two of its US-made Patriot systems to Ukraine and buy new ones from the US, to be delivered as soon as they come off the production line. The Defense Department has been working with NATO to develop a novel system for selling weapons to European allies that can then be provided to Ukraine, creating a NATO bank account for weapons purchases.
The new policy has already received some pushback from the Senate, with lawmakers including a provision in the proposed NDAA for 2026 that would only allow for weapons to be reabsorbed by the Pentagon if they haven't already been transferred to Ukraine and are no longer needed to support USAI training, equipping, and advisory activities. This provision aims to ensure that the intended military aid reaches Ukraine as intended.
In summary, the Colby memo's key mechanism is an internal Pentagon directive that gives the DoD discretion to repurpose or reclaim weapons made for Ukraine, allowing these arms to replenish US stockpiles instead. This policy change could have significant implications for the ongoing military support to Ukraine and the relationship between the US and its allies.
[1] https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/07/pentagon-memo-allows-diversion-weapons-ukraine-us-stockpiles/173747/ [2] https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/07/pentagon-memo-allows-diversion-weapons-ukraine-us-stockpiles/173747/ [3] https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/07/pentagon-memo-allows-diversion-weapons-ukraine-us-stockpiles/173747/ [4] https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/07/pentagon-memo-allows-diversion-weapons-ukraine-us-stockpiles/173747/ [5] https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/07/pentagon-memo-allows-diversion-weapons-ukraine-us-stockpiles/173747/
- The new policy, authored by Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, could potentially divert attention from war-and-conflicts in Ukraine, as it may prioritize repurposing weapons for the US stockpiles, rather than providing them to Ukraine as initially intended.
- The introduction of the new policy, which grants the Department of Defense discretion to reclaim weapons intended for Ukraine, may have implications for the politics of military aid to Ukraine, potentially disrupting the expected flow of general news about the ongoing support.
