US paying contractor to quietly supply Bulgarian 155mm shells to Ukraine
A $402 million contract suggests the former Soviet-bloc country is now producing NATO-standard artillery rounds.
SAM SKOVE | JULY 13, 2023
UKRAINE EUROPE INDUSTRY ARMS
For months, Bulgaria’s pro-Russian president fought to keep his country from joining an EU effort to make 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine. He appeared to lose that battle in June, when the country’s pro-Ukraine defense minister declared that the NATO ally would “not exclude” the possibility that domestic firms would produce the ammunition.
But according to Army and U.S. contracting documents, Bulgaria has been providing 155mm shells to Ukraine all along—through the United States, with deliveries scheduled through next year.
The hitherto unreported deal sheds light on how the United States has procured the coveted munition, how Bulgaria is delicately balancing its foreign policy, and how some small companies have unseated major defense giants amid the stresses of the Ukraine war.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/07/us-paying-contractor-quietly-supply-bulgarian-155mm-shells-ukraine/388480/
