France and Australia have reached an agreement to produce thousands of 155 mm projectiles to be supplied to Ukraine to support it in its war against Russia, ministers Sébastien Lecornu and Richard Marles announced on Monday, AFP reported.

“Several thousand 155mm shells will be produced jointly,” French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said, while Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles spoke of a “multi-million dollar Australian project”, a “new collaboration between the Australian and French defense industries”.

“This is part of an effort by Australia and France to support Ukraine to ensure that it is able to contain this conflict and end it on its own terms,” ​​the Australian minister said.

“The idea is to provide significant assistance and an effort that will continue for a long time,” Lecornue said, targeting first deliveries in the first quarter of 2023, but declined to elaborate on the contract.

The French group Nexter will work with companies in Australia that will supply the powder for the projectiles, the French minister explained.

The defense ministers met with the two countries’ foreign ministers, Catherine Colonnade and Penny Wong, during a 2+2 meeting in Paris as part of the recent renewal of Franco-Australian cooperation, heavily influenced by the 2021 Aukus agreement. , when Canberra canceled a major contract to buy French submarines in favor of buying American submarines.

155mm shells are used by several Western artillery pieces supplied to Ukraine for the war against Russia, such as the French Caesar howitzers, the American M777 howitzers or the German Panzerhaubitze 2000.

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