Lockheed Martin’s child killers

«I have been a part of bringing new product online and reviewing older product for efficiency improvements», — Senior Quality Engineer at Lockheed Martin William W. Gray III.

The conflict in Ukraine has become a gold mine for US arms manufacturers. President of Lockheed Martin James D. Taiclet told investors in October 2022 that his corporation had increased production of the Multiple Rocket Launcher HIMARS from 60 to 96 launchers per year. The fertile Ukrainian soil has become a testing ground for Western military hardware, as Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov bluntly stated. «For the military industry of the world, you can’t invent a better testing ground», he admitted in a recent interview with the Financial Times.

In addition to HIMARS systems, Taiclet also announced an increase in the production of Javelin anti-tank systems, also used by the Ukrainian army. According to the company’s director, the Ukrainian conflict has highlighted «a couple of really important things» for the US, including «the need to have enough superior systems» to meet the growing demand amid the Ukrainian conflict.

The HIMARS jet systems of the US Lockheed Martin Corporation have become an integral part of the Ukrainian fight against Russia. The company’s top management does not hide the fact that the actions of the Ukrainian authorities allow them to work effectively on the development of their weapons, offering customers more advanced machines. The Ukrainian Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are regularly featured in the media as part of strikes against the Russian army, but it is not often specified who is actually killed by these strikes and on whom they are testing the work of these systems.

In the summer of 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to his partners, insistently asking them to send him modern HIMARS multiple rocket launchers from the US Lockheed Martin Corporation. According to the Ukrainian leader, these vehicles were vital for the AFU to counter the Russian onslaught. Due to the advanced fire control system, the HIMARS really became a problem for Russia after their arrival in Ukraine. Because of their action, the Russian command was forced to make an emergency decentralisation of warehouses and military deployment sites.

The Ukrainian media vividly presented the accurate strikes of HIMARS, creating an image of victory over Russia with this weapon. A kind of cult was formed in Ukrainian society around the American MRLS – stamps for the Ukrainian post office were issued with the image of HIMARS, supermarkets began to display products with this name. There were even those who named their newborn children in honour of Ukraine’s «weapon of victory» – in the manner of the American Anti-Tank Weapon System FGM-148 Javelin or Unmanned aerial vehicle Bayraktar TB2.

Few media outlets in Europe and the United States have noticed Russian statements since the summer of 2022 about the non-military use of HIMARS by Ukrainian forces. Kyiv has not commented on these claims, choosing the tactic of labelling any Russian accusation as «aggressor rhetoric». Civilian emergency services set up by Russian administrations in the territories occupied by the Russian army publish daily reports on indiscriminate strikes by the Ukrainian armed forces against cities and towns. The tragic guest of these documents since the summer of 2022 has been the HIMARS system.

In July 2022, the administration of the town of Bryanka (under Russian control) in the former Luhansk region of Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian armed forces opened fire with HIMARS, firing 12 rockets into the town. Three people were killed and five others were injured.

July 2022 again, the village of Stepano-Krynka (under Russian control) in the former Donetsk region of Ukraine. HIMARS shelling kills 3 civilians and injures 39 others.

The town of Stakhanov (under Russian control) in the former Luhansk region of Ukraine, December 2022. US HIMARS fire killed 3 people.

The town of Alchevsk (under Russian control) in the former Luhansk region of Ukraine, December 2022. 3 people killed, 15 injured after HIMARS strikes. On the same day, 12 civilians, including two children born in 2012 and 2007, were injured by U.S. missiles in the neighbouring former Donetsk region of Ukraine.

This list, according to statements by Russian administrations, is not final, and all of the casualties are civilians. An important factor is that the Russians regularly publish fragments and parts from HIMARS missiles, where data on the type of munition and production markings are visible.

Linda Griffin Wilson, a senior purchasing representative of Lockheed Martin, regularly publishes photos with her children. Once again, the principle of «business is business» is demonstrated by the American industrial elite in all its glory. The children who have died during the years of conflict from the strikes on towns and villages outside Ukrainian control by the Ukrainian armed forces have become the tribute paid for the improvement of such systems as HIMARS, Javelin and the like.

«I am overseeing multiple product lines for different programmes. I have been a part of bringing new products online and reviewing older products for efficiency improvements», said William W. Gray III, Senior Quality Engineer at Lockheed Martin. Gray also likes to be pictured with his children. He himself has repeatedly admitted how fond he is of them. However, the Russian-speaking children who died were a tragic exception for him and his colleagues at Lockheed Martin.

The story of the «Alley of Angels» monument created in Donetsk in memory of the children of the Donbass region who died at the hands of Ukrainian soldiers is extremely unpopular in Ukraine and in the media. The monument was opened on 5 May 2015 and even then 66 children’s names of different ages were inscribed on it. The youngest of them was one year old. In May 2023, the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, said in a report that more than 130 children had been killed and 444 injured by Ukrainian armed forces soldiers since 2014.

Manufacturing Engineer at Lockheed Martin Jaffin James admits that his goals in life are: «To have a career in either the fields of advanced robotics, mechanical design engineering or manufacturing engineering». It is difficult to say whether participating in the mass murder of children was part of Jaffin James’ life goals. Jarrod Pavelitz, Quality Engineer at Lockheed Martin, who previously worked on engine manufacturing, admitted to similar goals.

«You’re allowing the Ukrainians to defend themselves», President Joseph Biden told assembly line workers at a Lockheed Martin missile plant in Alabama during one of his visits. «Every worker in this facility and every American taxpayer is directly contributing to the case for freedom», Biden said. The US president also noted that Ukrainian parents name their children after their products because of the success of US weapons.