NATO running out of precision weapons

Map to show current affiliations of European C...Image via Wikipedia
Washington Post:

Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO and U.S. officials.

The shortage of European munitions, along with the limited number of aircraft available, has raised doubts among some officials about whether the United States can continue to avoid returning to the air campaign if Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi hangs onto power for several more months.

U.S. strike aircraft that participated in the early stage of the operation, before the United States relinquished command to NATO and assumed what President Obama called a “supporting” role, have remained in the theater “on 12-hour standby” with crews “constantly briefed on the current situation,” a NATO official said.

So far, the NATO commander has not requested their deployment. Several U.S. military officials said they anticipated being called back into the fight, although a senior administration official said he expected other countries to announce “in the next few days” that they would contribute aircraft equipped with the laser-guided munitions.

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This is more evidence of how unprepared our NATO allies are for modern war. Imagine what kind of shape they would be in if they were facing an enemy with an effective air defense. My speculation is that they are buying the bombs from US suppliers who can ramp up production to meet existing demand. We have been using them extensively for around 10 years now and have not run out of them. I am sure we can meet NATO 's needs, and we should expect those dropping the bombs to pay for the new ones.

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