The Pentagon Cannot Meet The Massive Global Demand For Its Weapons

U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters (top) are seen on the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered super carrier, in the Pacific Ocean, south of Tokyo, Japan, November 24, 2015. Picture taken November 24, 2015. Reuters/Tim Kelly 

Reuters: U.S. working to keep up with surging weapons demand: Pentagon

The U.S. government is working hard to ensure quicker processing of U.S. foreign arms sales, which surged 36 percent to $46.6 billion in fiscal 2015 and look set to remain strong in coming years, a top Pentagon official said.

"Projections are still strong," Vice Admiral Joe Rixey, who heads the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), told Reuters in an interview late on Monday.

He said the agency was trying to sort out the impact of a much stronger-than-expected fourth quarter as it finalized its forecast for arms sales in fiscal 2016, which began Oct. 1.

The fight against Islamic State militants and other armed conflicts around the globe were fueling demand for U.S. missile defense equipment, helicopters and munitions, Rixey said, a shift from 10 years ago when the focus was on fighter jets.

"It's worldwide. The demand signal is coming in Europe, in the Pacific and in Centcom," he said, referring to the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East and Afghanistan.

WNU Editor: This is the first time that I have read on how much money is involved in pending U.S. Arms sales from the the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) ....

.... DSCA is handling a total of 13,500 cases with a total value of $461 billion. Last year's total was the biggest yet, outside of a spike caused by Saudi fighter jet sales in 2012.

That's a lot of money.