The United States provided Ukraine with sensitive plans for more than 1,000 American weapons, say two officials who gave only a cryptic hint as to what they are: report

• Two senior U.S. officials told the Times that Washington had sent plans for more than 1,000 weapons to Ukraine.

• The announced transfer comes as part of a campaign to help Ukraine increase its domestic arms production.

• Officials declined to say what weapons plans were included but gave a hint, according to the Times.

The United States has given Ukraine plans to make more than 1,000 American weapons in hopes of helping kyiv boost its own weapons production, two officials told the New York Times.

Military officials told The Times' John Ismay of the move during a visit to a new howitzer shell factory near Dallas.

According to the Times, those two officials were William A. LaPlante, assistant secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and Douglas R. Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and sustainment. technology.

They told the outlet that the United States also translated technical manuals from English to Ukrainian, but declined to specify what weapons were involved, the Times said.

“What do they use the most?” Bush told Ismay.

Drones and artillery shells were among the most widely used weapons during the war, but neither official provided further information on the plans.

Their remarks come as General Dynamics' $500 million Dallas plant opens to increase production of artillery shells by 30,000 additional 155 mm shells per month.

The United States has set a goal of producing 100,000 such shells per month by the end of 2025, after sending more than 3 million rounds to Ukraine with its allies. The demand for ammunition is pressing there.

The U.S. military said it would need about $3.1 billion to buy the cartridges and increase production to meet its munitions goal. It is unlikely that all these new rounds will be exclusively reserved for Ukraine.

Before the Dallas plant was established, Army News Service reported that by the end of 2023, the United States was manufacturing about 28,000 howitzer rounds per month. The Times reported that production this month had increased to about 36,000 shells without the new factory.

At the same time, Russia is estimated to produce around 250,000 shells per month, according to NATO assessments reported by CNN in March.

Western countries are concerned about how quickly Moscow has managed to develop and galvanize its defense industry, with some think tank estimates saying the Kremlin can sustain its heavy losses in personnel and equipment for years.

Ukraine already needs more troops, and the United States and Europe are trying to bolster their military supplies.

The European Union promised in March 2023 to deliver an additional 1 million artillery shells to kyiv over the next year. But with reports that Ukraine would produce only about 30% of what is needed, some experts said Ukraine would absorb Europe's entire annual output within two months. The bloc ultimately only reached 50% of its objective last March.

The U.S. military and Pentagon press teams did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside of normal business hours.

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