U.S. shutdown halts over USD 5 bn weapons exports — Axios

Axios reports this, citing U.S. State Department officials, according to Ukrinform.

A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the shutdown is harming both U.S. allies and partners as well as American industry “to actually deliver a lot of these critical capabilities overseas.”

According to the official, the shutdown has affected weapons deliveries including AMRAAM missiles, Aegis combat systems, and HIMARS for Denmark, Croatia, and Poland.

The shutdown, now in its 40th day, has paralyzed operations across several federal agencies, including the State Department bureau responsible for approving export contracts.

Only about a quarter of staff at the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs are currently working, significantly slowing the processing of arms sales.

Typically, the U.S. arms export process is straightforward, but the Arms Export Control Act requires Congressional involvement. Due to furloughed officials who must notify Congressional committees, this mechanism has essentially ground to a halt.

The State Department said the delays are harming the security of U.S. allies and undermining trust in the United States.

Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch warned that “China and Russia aren’t shut down, their efforts to undermine the U.S. and our partners, and allies get easier, while our industrial base suffers and our allies’ needs go unmet.”

As reported, several major U.S. airlines have canceled around 1,000 flights due to the record-long government shutdown.

Photo: Department of Defense