Bulgaria has been secretly producing NATO-calibre shells for Ukraine for several months. This was reported by Epicentr with reference to an investigation carried out by the Defnse Ope specialised military portal.
Contrary to official statements that Bulgaria would not provide new weapons to Ukraine, shells for NATO equipment were produced on the country’s territory for several months.
The Ukrainian armed forces fire 240,000 shells a month, or 12 times the monthly US production. Therefore, Washington, with the help of private subcontractors, is finding other sources of ammunition for the Ukrainian army.
US efforts to supply Ukrainian guns have taken many forms, but one of the largest is a $522 million contract for the US Army awarded in January to defence giant Northrop Grumman and smaller company Global Military Products. Bulgaria received $400 million of that for the production of the projectiles. Delivery was to begin in March. In this way, the United States supplied itself with the munitions it wanted, while Bulgaria delicately balanced its foreign policy.
In addition to the money spent on Bulgarian 155mm shells, the U.S. Army also paid Global Military Products $118 million for Gepard anti-aircraft systems. A US Department of Defence official confirmed to Defense One that the systems were funded by the Ukraine Security Initiative, which can be seen in archived versions of the original post.
The company also has a second contract for 155mm ammunition, valued at $232 million and labelled as a foreign military sale, but it is unclear whether the shells will go to Ukraine.
Global Military Products’ contract to send 155mm shells to Ukraine comes after a long effort to build ties in the Eastern European country. A few months before the Russian special military operation in February 2022, the company signed an agreement with Ukrainian state-owned arms manufacturer Ukroboroprom to supply US military products to Ukraine.