PIKE COUNTY, Ala.  (WRBL) — An Alabama arms plant is preparing for a presidential visit Tuesday afternoon. 

The Lockheed Martin facility outside of Troy has come into the national spotlight because of the role its playing in the Russian attack of Ukraine.

President Biden is scheduled to visit this large, secluded facility later this afternoon. The Lockheed Martin plant manufactures the Javelin missile. 

That surface to air weapon has become essential to Ukraine’s defense from Russian attack. And the president’s visit to rural Alabama underscores the critical importance of the American-made weapons system.

The Javelin, an anti-tank weapon, has allowed the Ukraine forces to fend off a heavily mechanized Russian Army.

But the supplies are running low and that magnifies the importance of this Alabama bomb-making plant.
The plant employs about 600 people – and more than 250 of them make the Javelins. This is one of three U.S. plants that make the bomb and can produce about 2,100 a year.

The U.S. javelin supply has taken a hit in the two months since Russia attacked Ukraine. And that’s one of the reasons the president is in Alabama. He is pushing for more aid for Ukraine – and the Javelin is an essential part of that.