WASHINGON (Newsweek/Reuters) -- The U.S. is accelerating production of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, in order to help Ukraine, a Pentagon official has said.
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition William LaPlante made the comments after visiting Lockheed Martin facilities in Camden, Arkansas that produce HIMARS and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS), according to a news release from the Department of Defense (DoD).
“As we continue providing security assistance to Ukraine, we are working with industry to accelerate production of critical weapons and systems,” LaPlante said.
“This includes providing funding to buy more equipment, expand production lines, and support additional hiring and workforce development.”
Lockheed Martin tweeted that a team showed LaPlante and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Doug Bush the facility “where we take pride in delivering products that enable mission success.”
The visit came after President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he is sending almost $3 billion in new military aid to Ukraine as Russia’s war in the country passed the six-month mark.
That package of equipment and ammunition will include an unspecified number of anti-drone systems called Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, or VAMPIRE, Newsweek previously reported.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Defense Under Secretary Colin Kahl said the U.S. will not provide Ukraine with long-range missiles.
Kahl said the U.S.-supplied Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) remain the best form of attack, rather than Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) munitions capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 280 kilometers.
“We have provided them with hundreds and hundreds of these precision guided systems, and the Ukrainians have been using them to extraordinary effect on the battlefield,” Kahl said. “It’s our assessment that the most relevant Munitions for the current fight are the GMLRS.”
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday Sweden would provide a further 500 million crowns ($46.75 million) in military assistance to Ukraine.
Andersson told reporters after hosting Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba for talks that her government would provide a total additional aid package of 1 billion crowns, both military and civilian assistance, to Ukraine.
Kuleba called on Sweden to provide the country with weapons such as howitzers and shells. “As long as the war continues, we will be asking for more weapons,” Kuleba told reporters. “Every euro, every bullet, every shell matters.”