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US plans to involve Tokyo in supplying Kyiv with missiles - FT
&&Washington has already agreed to supply artillery shells to Ukraine with Sofia and Seoul, and is now trying to negotiate similar cooperation with Tokyo, the Financial Times reports.&&
The United States is in talks with the Japanese government about the possibility of Tokyo's involvement in the supply of 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine. Washington has already concluded similar deals with Sofia and Seoul, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous US officials.
"Officials indicated that the United States has already agreed with Bulgaria and South Korea to supply Ukraine with ammunition, and is now negotiating with Japan for similar assistance," the newspaper notes.
In addition, the United States plans to significantly increase its own production of such ammunition, as the current production rate has proved insufficient given the large amount of ammunition consumed during the military operations in Ukraine. For example, according to the Financial Times, before the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the monthly production of such shells was 14,000 units, and now it has increased to 24,000. According to plans, by 2025 this figure is expected to increase to 90 thousand per month.
Most of the production of artillery shells in the United States is concentrated in four state-owned facilities located in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Iowa. According to a previously published report by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), the work at these plants can be characterized as "a lean manufacturing process with numerous constraints."
However, the US Army is now pushing to create new production lines, including modernizing a factory in Ontario, Canada, and launching a shell production facility in Texas. New production facilities are planned in Arkansas, Iowa and Kansas, the FT added.
Photo: Matt Rourke/AP Photo/picture alliance
