The US has given Ukraine manufacturing plans for more than 1,000 American weapons in hopes of helping Kyiv bolster its own arms production, two officials told The New York Times.The military officials told NYT’s John Ismay of the transfer during a reporting visit to a new factory for Howitzer artillery shells near Dallas.According to the NYT, these two officials were William A. LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and Douglas R. Bush, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology.They told the outlet that the US has also translated technical manuals from English to Ukrainian but declined to say which weapons were involved, per NYT.”What are they using the most?” Bush told Ismay.Drones and artillery shells have been among the most prominently used weapons in the war, but neither official was reported to have given further information on the plans.
Their remarks came amid the opening of the $500 million Dallas plant, which is run by General Dynamics and aims to boost artillery shell production by another 30,000 155mm rounds a month.The US has set a goal of producing 100,000 such shells a month by end-2025, after sending more than 3 million rounds together with its allies to Ukraine. Demand there for the ammo is pressing.The US Army has said it would need about $3.1 billion to buy the rounds and expand production to achieve its ammunition goal. It’s unlikely that all of these new rounds will be earmarked solely for Ukraine.Before the Dallas plant was set up, the US was reported at the end of 2023 to be making about 28,000 Howitzer shells a month. NYT reported that production this month rose to about 36,000 shells without the new factory.Meanwhile, Russia is estimated to be producing about 250,000 shells a month, according to NATO assessments reported by CNN in March.Western countries are concerned by the rate at which Moscow has been able to rapidly expand and galvanize its defense manufacturing industry, with some think-tank estimates saying the Kremlin can sustain its high casualties in manpower and equipment for years.Ukraine already needs more troops, and the US and Europe have been trying to shore up its military supplies.The European Union promised in March to deliver 1 million more artillery shells to Kyiv over the next year. But with reports that it’s only manufacturing about 30% of what’s needed, some experts say Ukraine could eat up Europe’s current entire annual production within two months.Press teams for the US Army and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
