U.S. Army's weapons contract reviews accelerate to replace Ukraine aid

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield (3rdL) examines explosive ammunition and weapons as she visits the Forensic Center of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs In Kyiv, on November 8, 2022. Sergei SUPINSKY/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army is accelerating its weapons acquisition process to speed through a backlog of contracts needed to replenish U.S. stocks of weapons depleted by arms shipments to Ukraine, a U.S. official said on Monday.

Doug Bush, the chief weapons buyer for the Army, told reporters the accelerated contracting effort hinges on running processes simultaneously that used to be run in succession and is based on lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic.