The US military’s Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois announced that since 2022, the service has nearly quadrupled its monthly production of the 155mm M795 projectile artillery.
The ongoing war in Ukraine continues to be studied by military planners around the world. As one of the largest conflicts fought since the end of the Cold War, the war has served as a test bed for new platforms like drones and loitering munitions, while at the same time highlighting the vulnerabilities of tanks and surface warships.
However, after more than three and a half years of fighting, the conflict has shown that some platforms will endure—most notably artillery. Both Russia and Ukraine continue to engage in dueling barrages, dispensing ordnance far faster than it can be produced. As war demands have exhausted both sides, Moscow has turned to its North Korean allies to obtain stockpiles of shells left over from the Cold War, while the West has ramped up efforts to keep the flow of 155mm rounds flowing to Kyiv.
So much ordnance has been expended that US stockpiles have been significantly depleted, and the US Army has struggled to keep up the production. The 155mm round, used in the M777 howitzer, is produced at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Des Moines County, Iowa. That facility, which is part of the US Army Joint Munitions Command, is currently operated by American Ordnance, LLC.
To further bolster production, General Dynamics now operates a facility in Mesquite, Texas, which manufactures 155mm shell casings. The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Pennsylvania also produces 155mm artillery shells.
Another Artillery Production Facility Is Going Online Shortly
The US military’s Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois announced this week that since 2022, the service “has nearly quadrupled its monthly production of the 155mm M795 projectile artillery,” and continues to “improve readiness, respond to global demands, and incorporate lessons learned from current conflicts.”
In April 2023, the Munitions Readiness Directorate at the Army Contracting Command awarded a $44.9 million contract to General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, which will build a new load, assemble, and pack plant at Camden, Arkansas.
That facility, which began construction pre-activities this past spring, will further ensure that GD-OTS can meet its contractual deadlines.
“This [integrated master] schedule shows all the main critical paths and how it all works,” said Corey Schaefer, contract specialist at MRD. “The different buildings are on there, the ordering of the equipment, the different reviews get tracked as a schedule, and then it gets updated as needed upon agreement of the contractor and the government. As developments or changes take place, that gets tracked as well.”
The Arkansas facility is meant to boost the production of the widely employed ordnance by focusing on the final stage of shell production, “where the metal bodies of 155mm projectiles are filled with explosives, assembled, and packed for shipment.”
The Associated Press reported in April 2023 that a 155mm round is made of four parts, including the detonating fuse, projectile, propellant, and primer. Each round is about two feet (60 cm) long and weighs about 100 pounds (45 kg), while it is 155mm (6.1 inches) in diameter. The artillery shells can be configured in several ways, including packed with highly explosive material, as well as armor-piercing and high-fragmentation. Specialty shells have been employed with precision-guided systems.
The US Army Plans to Double Artillery Production
Current plans call for the GD-OTS factory to produce upwards of 50,000 “completed projectiles per month,” which could help the US Army reach its larger goal of 100,000 shells. In addition to a skilled workforce, the US Army will utilize “advanced automation, digital quality tracking systems, and environmentally conscious processes” to ensure timely delivery and smooth production of the shells.
That could mean fewer employees will be working at the facility, a sign of the future of assembly lines. Moreover, it will also ensure that the US military’s stockpiles of vital ordnance can be replenished.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
