By Mike Stone and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is preparing a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine, the first to be sourced from the yet to be signed Ukraine-Israel bill, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
The aid package includes vehicles, Stinger air defense munitions, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, 155 millimeter artillery ammunition, TOW and Javelin anti-tank munitions and other weapons that can immediately be put to use on the battlefield, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
President Joe Biden had asked the U.S. Congress to provide $60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine, but the initiative stalled when Republicans in the House of Representatives refused to move the measure forward for months.
Once the Ukraine-Israel bill is signed, funds to replenish stocks would rebound, alleviating Pentagon concern that the use of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to aid Ukraine would compromise U.S. military preparedness.
Presidential Drawdown Authority allows the president to authorize the transfer of excess weapons from U.S. stocks without congressional approval in response to an emergency.
As the replenishment funds are deployed, U.S. defense companies would gain more contracts as the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on.
Experts expect a boost in the order backlog of RTX along with other major companies that receive government contracts, such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, following the passage of the supplemental spending bill.
(Reporting by Mike Stone and Steve Holland in WashingtonEditing by Chizu Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis)
