The UK government has asked BAE Systems to increase artillery shell production to replenish dwindling stocks due to its supply to Ukraine, The Telegraph has reported.
London has issued a letter of intent to the British defense company, conveying that an order is imminent.
The message gives the company confidence to start constructing new production lines.
Kyiv Looks to Increase Cannon Production
The development comes more than two months after the British outlet reported that Ukrainian officials were seeking factories in the country to manufacture artillery shells.
BAE produces NATO-standard 155mm artillery rounds at its Washington plant in the North East of England and assembles them in Glascoed, Wales.
Ammunition Shortage
The ammunition is a staple for a range of Western guns shipped to Ukraine since the war broke out, such as the M-777, causing a shortage, particularly in the US and UK.
The Pentagon earlier told The Washington Post that the US had shipped 806,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition to Ukraine as of August 24, leaving its stockpile “uncomfortably low.”
The UK has delivered an estimated 16,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine along with other defense equipment. London has also promised to send more than 20 M109 155mm self-propelled howitzers and 50,000 rounds to Ukraine.