Latest news with #StephenFeinberg
Middle East Eye
08-07-2025
- Business
- Middle East Eye
US has only 25 percent of Patriot interceptors needed for Pentagon planning: Report
The US has only about 25 percent of the Patriot missile interceptors that planners at the Pentagon assess are needed for all the US's military operations globally, according to a report by The Guardian on Tuesday. According to the report, deputy defence secretary Stephen Feinberg was so alarmed by the dwindling reserves that he ordered transfers to be halted while the Pentagon reviewed deliveries to US partners. Middle East Eye was the first to reveal during the recent Israel-Iran conflict that US officials were concerned about the pace at which they were using interceptors to defend Israel from ballistic missile attacks. A US official told MEE at the time that there were concerns a direct US strike on Iran could lead to bigger retaliation from the Islamic Republic, which would drain the US's stockpile to a 'horrendous' level. The conflict between Israel and Iran culminated in limited US strikes on Iran's Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan nuclear sites. Iran responded by informing the US via Qatar that it would fire 14 ballistic missiles at al-Udeid air base, southwest of Doha. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to open-source defence analysts, the US was expected to fire two to four interceptors for each missile fired. The Guardian reported that the US fired close to 30 patriot interceptors, or PAC-3s, to down the Iranian barrage. Even this relatively low number exacerbated the stockpile shortages, the report said. Dan Caine, US Air Force general and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told The War Zone news site that the operation to defend al-Udeid from Iran's symbolic attack was the 'largest single Patriot engagement in US military history'. Iran receives Chinese surface-to-air missile batteries after Israel ceasefire deal Read More » The relatively low numbers involved underscore just how precious a commodity Patriot missiles are, particularly at a time of increasing ballistic missile use in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In 2024, Lockheed Martin reported that it produced and delivered 500 interceptors, a 30 percent increase from the previous year. In addition to firing Patriots during the conflict, the US joined in Israel's defence, using at least one Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence antimissile battery in the region and ship-mounted SM-3 interceptors. Roughly a week after the Israel-Iran conflict, the Trump administration confirmed reports that it had suspended the delivery of air defence interceptors and other weapons to Ukraine as it faced massive Russian air strikes. The shipments to Ukraine were halted when they were in Poland, The Wall Street Journal reported, and included Patriot air defence interceptors, air-to-air missiles, artillery rounds, Stinger surface-to-air missiles and Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. The suspension of Hellfire missiles to Ukraine is notable because just days before Israel launched its surprise attack on Iran in June, the US delivered hundreds of Hellfire missiles to Israel. MEE exclusively reported on the delivery. US President Donald Trump on Monday reversed the decision to halt shipments, stating that the US would send additional defensive supplies to Ukraine. However, he did not provide details on the weapons systems or numbers.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US only has 25% of all Patriot missile interceptors needed for Pentagon's military plans
The United States only has about 25% of the Patriot missile interceptors it needs for all of the Pentagon's military plans after burning through stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months, an alarming depletion that led to the Trump administration freezing the latest transfer of munitions to Ukraine. The stockpile of the Patriot missiles has fallen so low that it raised concern inside the Pentagon that it could jeopardize potential US military operations, and deputy defense secretary, Stephen Feinberg, authorized the transfer to be halted while they reviewed where weapons were being sent. Donald Trump appeared to reverse at least part of that decision on Monday when he told reporters in advance of a dinner at the White House with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would 'send some more weapons' to Ukraine, although he did not disclose whether that would include Patriot systems. Trump also told Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a phone call that he was not responsible for the halt in weapons shipments and that he had directed a review of US weapons stockpiles but didn't order the freeze, according to people briefed on the conversation. But the determination last month to halt the transfer, as described by four people directly familiar with the matter, was based in large part on the Pentagon's global munitions tracker, which is used to generate the minimum level of munitions required to carry out the US military's operations plans. According to the tracker, which is managed by the joint chiefs of staff and the Pentagon's defense security cooperation agency, the stockpiles of a number of critical munitions have been below that floor for several years since the Biden administration started sending military aid to Ukraine. The Trump administration started a review of the depleted level of Patriot missiles and other munitions around February, the people said. Deliberations accelerated after the US deployed more of the interceptors in the Middle East to support the Houthi campaign and to Israel. The situation also became more acute following Trump's move to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities last month, the people said, when the US fired close to 30 Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles fired in performative retaliation at the Al Udeid base in Qatar. The recent depletion of Patriot missiles and other munitions formed part of the basis of a 'recommendation memo' by Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, that outlined several options to conserve weapons and sent to Feinberg's office. Earlier reports said Colby, who has drawn criticism from Democrats for prioritizing shifting resources from the Ukraine conflict in preparation for a potential war with China, had paused the transfer but two of the people said the undersecretary's office lacks the power to make such a unilateral move. The decision was rather made by Feinberg, the former chief executive or Cerberus Capital Management to whom Colby reports, the people said. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth then signed off on Feinberg's determination. But the abrupt pause has come at a critical time for Ukraine, as Russia last week launched its largest aerial offensive to date and Ukraine has limited options to acquire both precision-guided and more basic weapons to hold off increasingly intense Russian attacks. Ukraine is also largely unable to directly buy weapons from defense contractors for its purposes, since a new order is estimated to take years to fulfill, and it would only be completed after the Pentagon had its own orders completed since the defense department is a higher priority customer. Trump's decision to reverse course and allow some defensive munitions to be sent to Ukraine appears to have come amid growing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who he criticized on Monday for not helping end the war. Spokespeople for the White House and the Pentagon confirmed some transfers would resume at Trump's direction but did not specify whether the weapons being sent to Ukraine would involve munitions at critically low levels. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'As Operation Midnight Hammer proved, the American military is stronger than it's ever been. President Trump wants to stop the killing and has pledged to provide Ukraine with additional defensive munitions,' said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. While Trump has publicly complained about Ukraine aid in financial terms, Feinberg was briefed that the larger problem has been with the ability for the US to manufacture the weapons to quickly backfill the depleted stockpiles, two of the people said. The US has been transferring weapons to Ukraine using two principal channels: through a drawdown of defense department stockpiles, and through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), where the defense department pays contractors to manufacture weapons to go to Ukraine. Both transfer mechanisms was set to have been affected by the freeze, the people said, since the Pentagon is prioritizing replenishing its stockpiles using the same defense contractors being relied upon to build weapons for Ukraine through the USAI program. For the latest weapons shipment to Ukraine, the US had earmarked dozens of Patriot missiles among other munitions including air-to-air Sparrow missiles, Hellfire missiles, GMLRS rocket artillery and anti-tank guns. The principal concern appears to revolve around the Patriot missiles, which the US produces 600 per year but Iran alone has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles remaining it could theoretically use against US bases in the region if the ceasefire with Israel were to break down. The US has also transferred around 2,000 Stinger missiles to Ukraine, which officials estimated to be equivalent to two-and-a-half years of production, and is increasingly used by the US military for its own defense purposes against hostile drones, the people said.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US only has 25% of all Patriot missile interceptors needed for Pentagon's military plans
The United States only has about 25% of the Patriot missile interceptors it needs for all of the Pentagon's military plans after burning through stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months, an alarming depletion that led to the Trump administration freezing the latest transfer of munitions to Ukraine. The stockpile of the Patriot missiles has fallen so low that it raised concern inside the Pentagon that it could jeopardize potential US military operations, and deputy defense secretary, Stephen Feinberg, authorized the transfer to be halted while they reviewed where weapons were being sent. Donald Trump appeared to reverse at least part of that decision on Monday when he told reporters in advance of a dinner at the White House with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would 'send some more weapons' to Ukraine, although he did not disclose whether that would include Patriot systems. Trump also told Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a phone call that he was not responsible for the halt in weapons shipments and that he had directed a review of US weapons stockpiles but didn't order the freeze, according to people briefed on the conversation. Related: Trump has 'good conversation' with Zelenskyy after heavy bombardment of Ukraine by Russia But the determination last month to halt the transfer, as described by four people directly familiar with the matter, was based in large part on the Pentagon's global munitions tracker, which is used to generate the minimum level of munitions required to carry out the US military's operations plans. According to the tracker, which is managed by the joint chiefs of staff and the Pentagon's defense security cooperation agency, the stockpiles of a number of critical munitions have been below that floor for several years since the Biden administration started sending military aid to Ukraine. The Trump administration started a review of the depleted level of Patriot missiles and other munitions around February, the people said. Deliberations accelerated after the US deployed more of the interceptors in the Middle East to support the Houthi campaign and to Israel. The situation also became more acute following Trump's move to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities last month, the people said, when the US fired close to 30 Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles fired in performative retaliation at the Al Udeid base in Qatar. The recent depletion of Patriot missiles and other munitions formed part of the basis of a 'recommendation memo' by Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, that outlined several options to conserve weapons and sent to Feinberg's office. Earlier reports said Colby, who has drawn criticism from Democrats for prioritizing shifting resources from the Ukraine conflict in preparation for a potential war with China, had paused the transfer but two of the people said the undersecretary's office lacks the power to make such a unilateral move. The decision was rather made by Feinberg, the former chief executive or Cerberus Capital Management to whom Colby reports, the people said. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth then signed off on Feinberg's determination. But the abrupt pause has come at a critical time for Ukraine, as Russia last week launched its largest aerial offensive to date and Ukraine has limited options to acquire both precision-guided and more basic weapons to hold off increasingly intense Russian attacks. Ukraine is also largely unable to directly buy weapons from defense contractors for its purposes, since a new order is estimated to take years to fulfill, and it would only be completed after the Pentagon had its own orders completed since the defense department is a higher priority customer. Trump's decision to reverse course and allow some defensive munitions to be sent to Ukraine appears to have come amid growing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who he criticized on Monday for not helping end the war. Spokespeople for the White House and the Pentagon confirmed some transfers would resume at Trump's direction but did not specify whether the weapons being sent to Ukraine would involve munitions at critically low levels. 'As Operation Midnight Hammer proved, the American military is stronger than it's ever been. President Trump wants to stop the killing and has pledged to provide Ukraine with additional defensive munitions,' said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. While Trump has publicly complained about Ukraine aid in financial terms, Feinberg was briefed that the larger problem has been with the ability for the US to manufacture the weapons to quickly backfill the depleted stockpiles, two of the people said. The US has been transferring weapons to Ukraine using two principal channels: through a drawdown of defense department stockpiles, and through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), where the defense department pays contractors to manufacture weapons to go to Ukraine. Related: Ukraine accuses Putin of humiliating Trump with devastating attack on Kyiv Both transfer mechanisms was set to have been affected by the freeze, the people said, since the Pentagon is prioritizing replenishing its stockpiles using the same defense contractors being relied upon to build weapons for Ukraine through the USAI program. For the latest weapons shipment to Ukraine, the US had earmarked dozens of Patriot missiles among other munitions including air-to-air Sparrow missiles, Hellfire missiles, GMLRS rocket artillery and anti-tank guns. The principal concern appears to revolve around the Patriot missiles, which the US produces 600 per year but Iran alone has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles remaining it could theoretically use against US bases in the region if the ceasefire with Israel were to break down. The US has also transferred around 2,000 Stinger missiles to Ukraine, which officials estimated to be equivalent to two-and-a-half years of production, and is increasingly used by the US military for its own defense purposes against hostile drones, the people said.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US only has 25% of all Patriot missile interceptors needed for Pentagon's military plans
The United States only has about 25% of the Patriot missile interceptors it needs for all of the Pentagon's military plans after burning through stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months, an alarming depletion that led to the Trump administration freezing the latest transfer of munitions to Ukraine. The stockpile of the Patriot missiles has fallen so low that it raised concern inside the Pentagon that it could jeopardize potential US military operations, and deputy defense secretary, Stephen Feinberg, authorized the transfer to be halted while they reviewed where weapons were being sent. Donald Trump appeared to reverse at least part of that decision on Monday when he told reporters in advance of a dinner at the White House with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would 'send some more weapons' to Ukraine, although he did not disclose whether that would include Patriot systems. Trump also told Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a phone call that he was not responsible for the halt in weapons shipments and that he had directed a review of US weapons stockpiles but didn't order the freeze, according to people briefed on the conversation. But the determination last month to halt the transfer, as described by four people directly familiar with the matter, was based in large part on the Pentagon's global munitions tracker, which is used to generate the minimum level of munitions required to carry out the US military's operations plans. According to the tracker, which is managed by the joint chiefs of staff and the Pentagon's defense security cooperation agency, the stockpiles of a number of critical munitions have been below that floor for several years since the Biden administration started sending military aid to Ukraine. The Trump administration started a review of the depleted level of Patriot missiles and other munitions around February, the people said. Deliberations accelerated after the US deployed more of the interceptors in the Middle East to support the Houthi campaign and to Israel. The situation also became more acute following Trump's move to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities last month, the people said, when the US fired close to 30 Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles fired in performative retaliation at the Al Udeid base in Qatar. The recent depletion of Patriot missiles and other munitions formed part of the basis of a 'recommendation memo' by Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, that outlined several options to conserve weapons and sent to Feinberg's office. Earlier reports said Colby, who has drawn criticism from Democrats for prioritizing shifting resources from the Ukraine conflict in preparation for a potential war with China, had paused the transfer but two of the people said the undersecretary's office lacks the power to make such a unilateral move. The decision was rather made by Feinberg, the former chief executive or Cerberus Capital Management to whom Colby reports, the people said. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth then signed off on Feinberg's determination. But the abrupt pause has come at a critical time for Ukraine, as Russia last week launched its largest aerial offensive to date and Ukraine has limited options to acquire both precision-guided and more basic weapons to hold off increasingly intense Russian attacks. Ukraine is also largely unable to directly buy weapons from defense contractors for its purposes, since a new order is estimated to take years to fulfill, and it would only be completed after the Pentagon had its own orders completed since the defense department is a higher priority customer. Trump's decision to reverse course and allow some defensive munitions to be sent to Ukraine appears to have come amid growing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who he criticized on Monday for not helping end the war. Spokespeople for the White House and the Pentagon confirmed some transfers would resume at Trump's direction but did not specify whether the weapons being sent to Ukraine would involve munitions at critically low levels. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'As Operation Midnight Hammer proved, the American military is stronger than it's ever been. President Trump wants to stop the killing and has pledged to provide Ukraine with additional defensive munitions,' said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. While Trump has publicly complained about Ukraine aid in financial terms, Feinberg was briefed that the larger problem has been with the ability for the US to manufacture the weapons to quickly backfill the depleted stockpiles, two of the people said. The US has been transferring weapons to Ukraine using two principal channels: through a drawdown of defense department stockpiles, and through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), where the defense department pays contractors to manufacture weapons to go to Ukraine. Both transfer mechanisms was set to have been affected by the freeze, the people said, since the Pentagon is prioritizing replenishing its stockpiles using the same defense contractors being relied upon to build weapons for Ukraine through the USAI program. For the latest weapons shipment to Ukraine, the US had earmarked dozens of Patriot missiles among other munitions including air-to-air Sparrow missiles, Hellfire missiles, GMLRS rocket artillery and anti-tank guns. The principal concern appears to revolve around the Patriot missiles, which the US produces 600 per year but Iran alone has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles remaining it could theoretically use against US bases in the region if the ceasefire with Israel were to break down. The US has also transferred around 2,000 Stinger missiles to Ukraine, which officials estimated to be equivalent to two-and-a-half years of production, and is increasingly used by the US military for its own defense purposes against hostile drones, the people said.
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Cerberus eyes Darwin Port, says Chinese port operator, amid Australia's local ownership push
SYDNEY, May 27 (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Cerberus has shown interest in acquiring the lease for Darwin Port, a senior executive of the port's Chinese operator said on Tuesday, amid a push by the Australian government for the port to be returned to domestic ownership. Terry O'Connor, Australia non-executive director of Chinese company Landbridge, which operates Darwin Port, told Reuters that a Cerberus executive met with the port's Chief Executive Peter Dummett a fortnight ago and expressed interest, but had not yet spoken with Landbridge's board. Cerberus did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Landbridge has previously said the port is not for sale, and that it had not discussed the matter with the Australian government. China's ambassador to Canberra criticised on Sunday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's election pledge last month to return the strategically located northern port to local ownership. The Northern Territory government sold the port's 99-year lease to Landbridge for $506 million in 2015, a move criticised by the U.S. president at the time, Barack Obama. Around 2,000 U.S. Marines conduct exercises for six months of the year in the northern city of Darwin, where the U.S. and Australia are expanding air bases to host U.S. bombers. The Australian newspaper first reported on Tuesday that Cerberus Capital Management, founded by billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg who was appointed U.S. deputy secretary of defence in March, was preparing a formal proposal to buy the port. "The Chinese enterprise concerned obtained the lease of Darwin Port through the market, and their legitimate rights and interests should be fully protected," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday at a regular press conference, replying to a question about Darwin Port. The Australian federal government is running a separate process to identify potential Australian buyers and investors for the port. "There have been numerous meetings with potential proponents for the Port of Darwin," said federal lawmaker Luke Gosling, the special envoy for defence and Northern Australia, in a statement to Reuters. "We'll work through that process methodically," he added. The Northern Territory's treasurer Bill Yan told parliament last week the port must be ready for "heavier defence logistics, the surge in critical mineral exports and the growing LNG cargoes", and operate in "Australian interests". Yan's office did not respond to a request for comment. Australian Strategic Policy Institute director of national security programs, John Coyne, said Landbridge deciding to sell the port for profit would be an easier pathway for the Albanese government than if it were required to intervene to break the lease on national security grounds, which would draw a backlash from China. "Beijing would not be happy with a divestment of an asset like this," he said, adding China could discourage other foreign investment in Australia.
