In this March 25, 2015 file photo, US Army soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and South Korean soldiers take their positions during a demonstration of the combined arms live-fire exercise as part of their annual joint military exercise at the Rodriquez Multi-Purpose Range Complex in Pocheon, north of Seoul, South Korea. (PHOTO / AP)

WASHINGTON – The US Army needs Congress to approve $3.1 billion to buy 155-millimeter artillery rounds and expand production to quickly replace stocks depleted by shipments to Ukraine and now to Israel, an Army official said on Tuesday.

The US and its allies have sent more than 2 million rounds of 155 ammunition to Ukraine to help tackle Russia’s special military operation there. The US has also sent artillery to Israel as it fights Hamas.

READ MORE: US provides military assistance worth $250m to Ukraine

Doug Bush, the chief weapons buyer for the Army, told reporters that supplemental funding currently being considered by Congress as a part of US President Joe Biden's $106 billion request would go to modernize or build 155 millimeter artillery production facilities across many states including Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and California.

Of the $3.1 billion specific to 155 artillery, about half would go to boosting industrial capacity with the remainder going to buying rounds, said the chief weapons buyer for the US Army

"The funding will expand production lines, strengthen the American economy, and create new jobs," Bush told reporters.

Of the $3.1 billion specific to 155 artillery, about half would go to boosting industrial capacity with the remainder going to buying rounds, he said.

Other parts of Biden's $106 billion supplemental request, outside the $3.1 billion earmarked for 155-millimeter artillery, would go to funding expansion of other munitions, Bush said, including funds to boost the annual production rate of Patriot air defense interceptors to 650 from 550.

Demand for 155 mm artillery rounds has soared after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Allies' supplies for their own defense have been run down as they have rushed shells to Kyiv, which fires thousands of rounds per day.

ALSO READ: Biden authorizes largest weapons assistance to Ukraine

The US plans to increase its monthly production rate for 155 millimeter artillery shells to 100,000 in 2025.

In its most recent earnings report, General Dynamics said it benefited from Pentagon spending to replace equipment sent to Ukraine, including 155-millimeter artillery.