The United States has asked Turkey to increase the supply of explosives for the production of 155 mm NATO calibre ammunition, which Ukraine urgently needs.
Source. This was reported to Bloomberg by sources familiar with the discussion.
According to them, Turkish explosives supplies could potentially triple the production of shells.
This, in turn, will help Washington increase the volume of ammunition supplied to Ukraine. In particular, the United States is asking Turkey to produce more trinitrotoluene (TNT), as the war in Ukraine has led to a shortage of explosives, including TNT, in the world.
Military ties have already been established between the US and Turkey, Bloomberg reminds. Earlier, the Pentagon signed a contract with the Turkish defence company Arca Defence to supply 116,000 rounds of ammunition this year.
Repkon will also manufacture shells for the US. It is expected that by 2025, its production facilities will produce 30% of all 155 mm ammunition made in the USA. By this time, the US intends to increase the production of NATO-calibre shells to 100,000 per month.
At the moment, the US and EU can supply Ukraine with no more than 1.2 million shells per year, while Russia produces about 250,000 artillery rounds per month, CNN cited NATO intelligence estimates.
In early March, Ukraine's western allies raised the necessary funds to purchase 800,000 shells for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This ammunition could be on the frontline as early as March-April, Bloomberg reported. The Czech Republic offered to purchase the ammunition outside the EU. Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, France, Poland, and later other countries agreed to participate in the initiative.