In order to dramatically increase arms aid to Ukraine, American contractors had to scour Eastern Europe in the hope of finding the right ammunition for Kiev.
Next to the runway of an airport in Poland, drivers and staff were rushing to unload cargo from a US Air Force C-17 transport and a smaller civilian turboprop aircraft. They will soon be transferred to a convoy of trucks that are scattered around the airport, with their final destination in Ukraine, where hostilities have dragged on for more than two months.
Inside the wooden crates dropped from the plane were blue cartridges. Some of it is produced in the US, the rest is brought from Eastern European countries.
The Pentagon has largely withdrawn American-made weapons from its inventory to ship to Ukraine. However, Kiev does not only need Washington to support American weapons. Most of the equipment that the Ukrainian military is using is designed from the Soviet era, using a completely different type of ammunition compared to the NATO standard.
To meet Kiev’s needs, the Pentagon had to ask defense contractors to scour weapons factories across Eastern Europe, order the right weapons and ammunition, and then ship them into Ukraine by secret route. .
US officials have so far only admitted to using the airport “near the border with Ukraine” in Eastern Europe, but declined to disclose specific locations, as a place to gather weapons aid for the country, according to the report. CNN.
A plane carrying ammunition and weapons from the United States landed at Boryspil airport in the Ukrainian capital Kiev in January, including 300 Javelin anti-tank missiles. Image: NY Times.
Ukraine still uses many weapons similar to the Russian military, typically AK guns, which use 7.62 mm ammunition, while NATO rifles use 5.56 mm bullets. After more than two months of fighting, Ukraine’s weapons and ammunition resources have been significantly depleted.
Although the international media often focuses on the modern weapons that Western aid to Ukraine, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles or Stinger man-portable air defense missiles, Kiev still needs to solve the problem of replenishing ammunition for its arsenal. “non-Western” gas but plays a key role in the payroll.
The Pentagon calls them “non-standard ammunition,” which includes ammunition for Soviet-standard machine guns, rifles, artillery and rockets. These types of ammunition are inherently unsuitable for weapons produced by the US and many of its allies. In the opposite direction, weapons designed by the Soviet Union also do not use “standard NATO ammunition”.
Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Pentagon has begun ordering large quantities of “non-standard” weapons and ammunition to support US-backed forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and some other countries. The country still uses mainly Soviet-designed weapons.
The procurement process is done through a network of US defense contractors, including Ultra Defense Corporation. The company is headquartered in Tampa County, Florida, but has a network throughout Eastern Europe, doing business with a series of factories in Romania, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovakia, Czech and Bulgaria.
Matthew Herring, director of Ultra Defense, estimates that these six countries supply about 90% of all “non-standard” ammunition purchased by the Pentagon. He noted that the company only received a small part of the order list from the US government.
The program to buy non-standard ammunition was developed by the Pentagon after the US press in 2008 discovered that some contractors bought weapons made in China and then sold them back to the US military to supply allies in Afghanistan. . This activity violates the arms trade embargo with China imposed by the US and the European Union (EU) since 1989.
After the scandal, the Pentagon began to contract with major defense enterprises to supply “non-standard” ammunition to Afghanistan. The program gradually expanded and allowed small companies like Ultra Defense to bid.
Herring acquired Ultra Defense in 2011. At that time, the company had three employees, bidding to buy Russian-made helicopters for the US government to supply to Afghanistan. The company’s personnel has now increased to 60 people.
After the US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, the dust of Central Asia is now a thing of the past. Herring’s schedule now includes trips to Poland, meetings with Ukrainian officials, to find out what more ammunition his company can supply Ukraine from Eastern European partners.
“A month ago, when Kiev was besieged, the question was: What do we need in the next 48 hours. Ukrainian forces are now preparing for protracted hostilities and the problem has been changed to: How do we get enough ammo to hold out in this fight,” Herring said. “Their needs now are more long-term than before.”
Javelin anti-tank missiles, donated by the US to Ukraine, were loaded onto a truck in Kiev in February. Photo: AFP.
Representative Jason Crow, a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees of the US House of Representatives, warned last week that Ukraine’s ammunition stockpile “will run out quickly” given the current situation of hostilities. He said that the Ukrainian army in the future will need to switch to standard NATO weapons to ensure long-term combat resources.
This process also allows Kiev to take advantage of the weapons and ammunition stored in the arsenals of the United States and its allies in Europe.
The transition is accelerating. The Pentagon announced that it will deliver to Ukraine 72 155 mm cannons from the warehouses of infantry and marines in the United States. This number of guns is enough for 5 combat battalions.
The 155 mm cannon is as powerful as the 152 mm cannon that Ukraine is using. In addition, the US Department of Defense is urgently delivering 184,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery shells to Ukraine, taken directly from the arsenal in Europe.
Washington and Kiev still need Ultra Defense and defense contractors with a large network in Eastern Europe in the near future. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby last week emphasized that non-standard ammunition is the “lifeline” of the campaign to supply weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces.
“We don’t talk much about ammunition for light infantry guns. However, in all discussions with Ukrainian authorities, they always emphasize the importance of this ammunition,” he shared.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US has delivered more than 50 million rounds of ammunition for infantry guns to Kiev, most of which are 7.62 mm caliber. Mr. Kirby stressed that the US will continue to dialogue with allies and partners, and mobilize countries to export and support ammunition suitable for the weapons of the Ukrainian army.
“This has a significant impact on the battlefield situation, because the Ukrainian army needs to use these types of ammunition every day,” he said.
Name (According to NY Times, CNN)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
