Mounting tensions with China and the conflict in Ukraine have prompted the Pentagon to create a special task force to facilitate arms sales to Washington’s allies, a senior US defense official has told the Wall Street Journal.
The so-called “Tiger team” was put together in August to look for ways to deliver US-made weapons to foreign buyers faster, the outlet said in its article on Friday. The new body is co-chaired by two under secretaries of defense, while also including representatives from the Pentagon’s various services.
“It’s about the mechanical steps in the process,” the official told the WSJ. “How can we do a better job of bringing inefficiencies out of the system that will apply to all of the countries that we work with?”
According to the source, the review was launched due to mounting tensions with China over Taiwan and the need to refill the arsenals of US allies in Europe, which have been depleted due to them supplying arms to Ukraine amid the conflict with Russia.
“The longstanding argument for American equipment is that it is the best – and it is the best,” an official said. “That also makes it the most expensive, it’s not cheap.”