KYIV. May 14 (Interfax-AVN) - The Ukrainian Armed Forces scrapped 105,000t of missiles and warheads from 1994 to 2001, the Defense Ministry press service reported on Tuesday.
Another 180,000t of ammo are considered unfit for use or storage, a press service official told Interfax-Military News Agency. The Defense Ministry has signed nine state contracts with the Sotrudnichestvo corporation for construction of ammo scrapping facilities.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian specialized industrial enterprises are capable of scrapping ammunition of caliber ranging from 57 to 203mm. They can process up to 370,000 artillery shells and 12 warheads of 240mm projectiles a year.
The enterprises can also dispose of shells fitted with hexogen of A-1X-1 and A-1X-2 types. This concerns the shells of caliber ranging from 57 to 152mm. In addition, they can scrap up to 70,000 high-explosive batch-type shells, up to 300,000 armor- piercing tracer shells and up to 250,000 hollow charge shells a year.
The Ukrainian enterprises are capable of scrapping up to 300,000 TM-57 antitank mines charged with TNT every year, the official said.