As the war in Ukraine approaches the one-month mark, some defense manufacturers across the country are reaping the benefits of a recent increase in U.S. military spending.
Here in Rhode Island, though, the economic impact isn’t very noticeable.
Doug Berenson, managing director at the strategy consulting firm Avascent, cites Raytheon Technologies as an example. While Raytheon builds the anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons that are being sent to Ukraine for defense purposes, the company’s plant in Portsmouth is playing a relatively minor role in that production.
“What we’re going to see is higher production of certain munitions, but those are happening well outside of Rhode Island,” Berenson said. “Raytheon’s principle munitions-production lines are in Tucson, Arizona. So while I think there are some contractors that are likely to see additional orders, I don’t think that will redound to the benefit of the Rhode Island economy.”
Berenson says the war in Ukraine will have virtually no impact on submarine-maker Electric Boat, which employs Rhode Islanders at its shipyards in Quonset and Groton, Connecticut. He says submarine production is primarily influenced by Chinese military power, not the geopolitical landscape in Europe.
If the war in Ukraine drags on for months, William Hartung, a foreign policy expert at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says the U.S. government may reconsider its defense priorities. Hartung believes that could lead to more production at Electric Boat, which is currently building a dozen Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines at a cost of $110 billion.
“I think for a facility like Electric Boat, if anything, the conflict with Russia will kind of reinforce the desire to build (the Columbia class subs),” Hartung said. “I think the question is, if the Pentagon budget goes up substantially, will they, for example, buy more attack submarines?”
President Biden last week signed a $1.5 trillion government funding bill that includes $782 million in defense spending. That’s a nearly six percent increase over last year’s defense budget.
Joe Tasca can be reached at jtasca@ripr.org
