CAMDEN -- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Q Brown -- the nation's highest ranking military officer -- toured Lockheed Martin's facility on Thursday amid stalled efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a $95 billion aid package that would supply munitions to Ukraine.
Brown visited the factory with Arkansas Republicans U.S. Sen. John Boozman, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman and U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. He was scheduled to later visit the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Okla.,with Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen.
Brown, a decorated fighter pilot, serves as the principal military adviser to President Joe Biden, the Secretary of Defense and National Security Council.
Brown said during a teleconference with media on Wednesday that he would make the most of his time with the lawmakers to stress the importance of funding the U.S. military.
"As I have done with other members, and I'll do with these members, I'll talk to them about the importance of the supplemental and not only how it helps Ukraine but also how it helps all of us," Brown said.
"What I mean by that is much of the money, about 80% of the money out of the supplemental, will go back into our defense industrial base to provide munitions."
The U.S. Senate passed the national security supplemental bill last month, with support from Sen. Boozman, that includes $60 billion in military aid for Ukraine, as well as other aid for Israel and Indo-Pacific allies, but the bill has not made it to the House floor for a vote.
"Eventually we are going to get the dollars that we need, because it's so very important," Boozman said Thursday.
Mullin and Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voted against the bill.
"There is a package that's being worked on the Senate and the House side that could possibly move forward," Mullin said Thursday, referencing a land lease idea that would give the U.S. first rights to Ukraine's mineral resources in return for aid, a type of loan process which could reduce U.S. dependence on China that former President Donald Trump has supported, Mullin said.
"I think there's a general consensus that we want to be able to help our allies and also to help our industrial complex to stay afloat," Westerman said.
"It has to be a bill that we can come to an agreement on and it has to be something that members of Congress feel like they understand what the mission is, what the objective is and what the plan is, and is this the last supplemental that we will have to deal with or is there going to be another one?"
Lockheed Martin's facility in Camden produces ground vehicles like the M270 launcher, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Transporters and chassis and launcher components for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS.
All of the HIMARS launchers manufactured by Lockheed are built in Camden.
The facility also produces PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot missile system, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets and Army Tactical Missile System missiles.
President Joe Biden's administration announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Defense would send a $300 million military aid package to Ukraine made possible through cost savings from Pentagon contracts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in October that HIMARS units had proven effective against Russian forces on the battlefield, according to Associated Press reporting.
As of Tuesday, the U.S. had provided 39 HIMARS units and ammunition to Ukraine since the beginning of Biden's administration and the onset of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, according to a U.S. Department of Defense fact sheet.
In October 2022, Lockheed Martin announced a facility expansion in Camden to support increased production capacity for PAC-3 missiles, which was the second major expansion after Lockheed announced a $142 million investment at the Camden facility in June 2019, a move that was expected to add 326 new jobs by 2024.
Lockheed told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in February 2023 that the number of employees at the Camden facility was expected to eventually exceed 1,200, up from about 600 in 2018.
Lockheed Martin Site Director for Camden Operations Aaron Huckaby said last year that Lockheed anticipated hiring an additional 200 employees over the next five years. Today, just over 1,100 employees work at the Camden facility, Huckaby said Thursday.
In November 2022, the U.S. Army asked Lockheed to ramp up annual HIMARS production in Camden to 96 units, or eight per month.
Huckaby said on Thursday the facility is now capable of producing 60 units annually and expects to meet the 96-unit capacity goal by the end of the year.
"We are at a 60 rate capable at the current moment, we'll be at a 96 rate capable by the end of the year, but that's capable versus being on contract," Huckaby said, emphasizing the actual contractual numbers of HIMARS would have to come from the government.
"We continue to perform up to all of our contracts."
Against a backdrop of tension for the U.S., Taiwan and Japan over China's claims in the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and threats from North Korea, Iran and other militant nations, Brown said in an Oct. 1 memo outlining his priorities that the U.S. military should focus on collaborating with U.S. allies and partner countries.
"There is almost no challenge we will confront alone," Brown said in the memo. "We must integrate our military power to deter and if called upon, fight and decisively prevail in war."
Brown said on Wednesday that collaborating with other countries would continue to be a key priority in his role. Brown became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October after having served as chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force since 2020.
Brown said he has routinely performed about 120 engagements with allies and his military counterparts since assuming the role, such as when he spoke to his Chinese military counterpart, People's Liberation Army Gen. Liu Zhenli, in December, the first senior military communications between the U.S. and China since August 2022.
"As the world gets more complicated, the dialogue will need to increase," Brown said.
"I will also share with you that I spent all my time as a general officer not in Washington, D.C., until I became the chief of staff of the Air Force just over three years ago. I spent a lot of time in commands and living overseas and engaging with our allies and partners, and if we're going to solve problems, for security, this is not something you can do alone."