In the United States, they plan to increase the production of 155-mm shells to 90,000 per month for two years. Ukraine needs such shells now, first of all.
This is written by The New York Times with reference to a high-ranking supply official of the US Defense Ministry.
This will be done to compensate for the deficit caused by the war in Ukraine and to create reserves for future conflicts.
The Pentagon will increase the production of shells by 500% — this has not happened since the Korean War. It will be part of the most aggressive modernization of the US defense industrial base in nearly 40 years. For this purpose, existing factories will be expanded and new manufacturers will be attracted.
The U.S. Department of Defense will spend about a billion dollars a year over the next 15 years to improve automation and worker safety to speed up munitions production. Before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the Russians were producing 14,400 unguided projectiles per month for the US military.
NYT journalists note that the Pentagonʼs decision to expand the production of artillery shells is the clearest indication that the United States plans to support Ukraine regardless of how long the war lasts.
- Australiaʼs public broadcaster ABC published a lengthy article analyzing what the current multibillion-dollar contracts with arms manufacturers could lead to.
- The Wall Street Journal wrote that the administration of US President Joe Biden is inclined to transfer a "significant number" of Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine.