WSJ: Western defence sector struggles to meet Ukraine’s military aid requests

The defence industries of Western countries are facing significant challenges in meeting Ukraine’s escalating demands for military aid as Russian missile and drone attacks intensify, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The Pentagon’s recent promise to rapidly replace Germany’s Patriot air defence systems — which Germany is preparing to send to Ukraine — marks the first active facilitation by the U.S. to expedite weapons deliveries since President Donald Trump expressed his support earlier this month for sending more arms to Kyiv.

However, this move also highlights broader difficulties in supplying critical defence equipment. Production lines across Western defence sectors are struggling to keep pace with Ukraine’s urgent requests to protect its cities and front-line forces from the surge of Russian aerial assaults.

The effort to speed up the transfer of Patriot systems to Ukraine by backfilling Germany’s stock from American production lines aligns with Trump’s pledge that NATO allies should compensate the U.S. for their support in providing additional weapons to Ukraine.

This approach mirrors a similar policy implemented in 2024 by the Biden administration, which prioritised Ukraine to receive air defence interceptors directly from U.S. manufacturers.

A senior U.S. official confirmed that as more NATO and Western countries agree to send Patriots from their existing arsenals, the Trump administration plans to reshuffle future U.S. deliveries, prioritising allies contributing systems to Ukraine.

By Vugar Khalilov