The United States overestimated the cost of weapons supplied to Ukraine by $3 billion

The US has sent billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine, including Himars missiles. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

The US has overestimated the cost of the kit sent to Ukraine by $3bn (£2.4bn), officials have admitted.

The calculation could lead to more weapons being sent to Kiev .

The error was the result of a higher-than-guaranteed charge for weapons that were taken from US warehouses and then sent to Ukraine, two senior Defense Department officials said Thursday.

"We've found inconsistencies in how we value the equipment we donated" to Ukraine, a senior defense ministry official told Reuters. Officials and a Senate aide spoke on condition of anonymity.

Congress will be notified of the accounting adjustment on Thursday, according to sources.

A Department of Defense official said the number of overestimated weapons may have may exceed $3 billion as the Pentagon takes a closer look at the situation.

In its accounting, the Pentagon used replacement cost to assess weapons aid, rather than the value of the weapons when they were acquired and depreciated, senior Defense Department officials said.

Since August 2021, the United States has sent weapons to Ukraine to amounting to about $21.1 billion of its stocks.

While it is not known how Congress will react to this news, a change in equipment estimates could delay the Biden administration. it is necessary to ask Congress to allocate more funds to Ukraine as the fight against the debt ceiling intensifies.

The U.S. sent a wide range of equipment to Ukraine as part of 37 presidential spending-cutting packages, including a highly mobile artillery missile system (Himars). launchers, Javelin anti-tank weapons, and a Patriot surface-to-air missile system.

Himars M142 missile system

A March 31 memo seen by Reuters explains to top accountants in each service branch which method should be used, citing against existing regulations.

It will take time to account for billions of dollars worth of equipment shipped, senior Defense Department officials have said.

In the case of the 155mm Howitzer cannon ammunition sent to Ukraine over 1.5 million, today cost about $800 each.

But the actual cost of every projectile shipped to the US military every year for several decades can be averaged out at a much lower price, said a senior Defense Department official.

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