Biden presses Ukraine aid in arms-plant tour

TROY, Ala. — President Joe Biden on Tuesday credited the assembly line workers at a Javelin missile plant for doing life-saving work in building the anti-tank weapons that are being sent to Ukraine to stifle Russia’s invasion as he made a pitch for Congress to approve $33 billion so the U.S. can continue to hustle aid to the front lines.

“You’re allowing the Ukrainians to defend themselves,” Biden told the workers, his podium flanked by Javelin missile launchers and shipping containers. “And, quite frankly, they’re making fools of the Russian military in many instances.”

The president toured the Lockheed Martin factory in Troy, Ala., which has the capacity to manufacture about 2,100 Javelins per year. He said Ukrainian parents are naming their children Javelin or Javelina because of the weapons’ successes.

“Every worker in this facility and every American taxpayer is directly contributing to the case for freedom,” Biden said.

The president noted that each Javelin produced requires 200 computer chips, but semiconductors are in short supply and limiting the availability of everything from autos to kitchen appliances. Biden is urging that legislation be approved to fund the manufacturing of computer chips in the U.S., though that is a longer-term fix to immediate pressures that militaries, businesses and consumers face now.

His trip overlapped with his push for an additional $33 billion in security and economic assistance for Kyiv. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday he hoped quick bipartisan agreement on the security package could be reached so the Senate could begin considering it “as early as next week.”

Demand for the Javelin and other weapon systems would increase broadly over time because of the Russian invasion, Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet said in a recent CNBC interview. He said the company was working “to get our supply chain ramped up.”

“We have the ability to meet current production demands, are investing in increased capacity and are exploring ways to further increase production as needed,” Lockheed Martin, which is based in Bethesda, Md., said in a statement.