{"text":[[{"start":15,"text":"Washington has warned European allies, including the UK, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia, to expect long delivery delays for US weapons as it scrambles to replenish stockpiles depleted by the Iran war."}],[{"start":28.1,"text":"The Pentagon had told the countries to expect serious delays for several missile systems, according to nine people familiar with the matter. Two people said there were also talks about postponing shipments to Asia."}],[{"start":41.150000000000006,"text":"The delays are partly driven by acute concerns about US inventory levels given the high volume of weapons used in the past two months in Iran. The American military has already been forced to move weapons from other regions, including the Indo-Pacific, to make up for the shortfalls. "}],[{"start":56.7,"text":"But the Iran war has also deepened concerns about whether the US has a sufficient stockpile of weapons to deter Beijing or defeat China in any future conflict over Taiwan."}],[{"start":67.7,"text":"In addition to sparking alarm across Europe, the delays are bad news for Ukraine amid concerns about US support for the country after four years of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion."}],[{"start":79.35000000000001,"text":"The delays will affect munitions for Himars, Nasams and other missile systems. Himars, which have been used in Ukraine, are highly mobile rocket systems made by Lockheed Martin. Nasams are medium-range surface-to-air missile systems co-produced by Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg. "}],[{"start":97.85000000000001,"text":"The Pentagon said it was “carefully evaluating new requests for equipment from partners as well as existing arms transfer cases to ensure alignment with operational needs”. It declined to provide details, citing the “operationally sensitive nature of these matters”."}],[{"start":113.45,"text":"The delays come at a tense moment in transatlantic relations. President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to help the US campaign against Iran. Several people said the delays were not aimed at punishing Europe but reflected US worries about its stockpiles."}],[{"start":130.6,"text":"“The Pentagon may now need to fight a long war in the Middle East and it’s also desperate to shore up deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” said Tom Wright, a former official in the administration of president Joe Biden who is now at the Brookings Institution. “It’s more than willing to throw Europe under the bus to do that. Europe needs to rebuild its own defence industrial base at warp speed.”"}],[{"start":152.45,"text":"Trump on Friday dismissed concerns about stockpiles. “All over the world, we have inventory, and we can take that if we need it.”"}],[{"start":161,"text":"Security experts said US allies in Asia should also be prepared for delays. Japan and South Korea, for example, rely on various US weapons, including Patriot missile interceptors, for their defence. "}],[{"start":173.15,"text":"Nasams have not been used widely in the Iran conflict, but the FT has reported that the US is compiling a record-size package of arms sales for Taiwan that would include Nasams and Patriot interceptors. The Nasams portion of the package is worth an estimated $6bn."}],[{"start":190.85,"text":"“Allies in Asia are likely underestimating the impact that US munition shortfalls will have on them and how long the impact will last,” said Christopher Johnstone, a former top Pentagon official at The Asia Group."}],[{"start":203.4,"text":"“Japan was already deeply frustrated with delivery delays for systems they have paid for, including the Tomahawk cruise missiles,” Johnstone said. “This reality will drive Japan, South Korea and other allies to focus more heavily on indigenous and non-American options, even in areas where US equipment is clearly superior.”"}],[{"start":223.5,"text":"US defence firms are racing to boost production of critical weapons, including Patriot interceptors. Trump last month said companies had agreed to “quadruple” output of exquisite systems. But inventories will remain strained as delivery schedules already take several years."}],[{"start":241.75,"text":"Admiral Samuel Paparo, Indo-Pacific commander, last month said it would take as long as two years for the big defence contractors to increase production to the scale needed to tackle inventory shortfalls."}],[{"start":253.85,"text":"Washington has delayed the delivery of weapons to allies in the past. Biden paused shipments of interceptors for Patriot and Nasams systems to other countries in 2024 to accelerate their delivery to Ukraine. But the latest warning to European allies is more serious because of the broader scale of the problem."}],[{"start":272.35,"text":"US allies and partners that use Nasams include Taiwan, Norway, Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Indonesia, Australia, Hungary, Ukraine, Denmark, Qatar and Oman. According to Lockheed Martin, 14 US partners use the Himars system. These include Taiwan, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Australia and the United Arab Emirates."}],[{"start":295.1,"text":"The strain on inventories is already hurting Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official said US weapons for Kyiv had faced delays since the start of the Iran war. Late arrivals have sometimes left Patriot launchers empty during Russian missile barrages, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "}],[{"start":312.3,"text":"Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher in London, Amy Mackinnon in Washington and Amy Kazmin in Rome"}],[{"start":328.40000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777691102_3203.mp3"}