While the U.S. Army plans to reach monthly production of 70,000 to 80,000 conventional munitions, including 155 mm artillery shells, by the end of the year or early next year, Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said on Feb. 5 that DoD should consider establishing a strategic stockpile of critical munitions across the military services.
“The U.S. Army at the start of the war in Ukraine [in February 2022] had precisely the amount of 155 [mm shells] we were supposed to have based on the Department [of Defense]’s policies, plans and assignments,” he said. “There wasn’t a shortage against the then known requirement, but if we’re in a different world where we are supporting allies in large scale conflicts while maintaining weapons for ourselves, I think that requirements process does need to be relooked. I think it’s a good thing for the department to do as a whole. Larger stocks are a way to mitigate risk for an extended conventional conflict. That needs to be looked at. It needs to be proposed to Congress. Congress will have to fund it, but it will not be inexpensive. Munitions are very expensive to make. Artillery shells are relatively inexpensive to make and store, but some precision weapons are much more expensive and require care and feeding to make sure they work when you need them.”
The Army has five multi-year contracts in place for 155 mm shell production, Bush said on Feb. 5, including one awarded to IMT Defense
last summer, and the service’s target is to reach monthly production of 100,000 such shells by the end of next year (Defense Daily, Aug. 7, 2023).
Congressional appropriators have also been considering an Army proposal for multi-year procurement for RTX [RTX] Patriot missiles and Lockheed Martin [LMT] Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.
Sub-tier suppliers have been a source of concern for the Army and other military services.
On 155mm shell production, the Army has doubled production since the Ukraine conflict started, but “this year is absolutely critical, and it’s a multi-faceted problem,” Bush said on Feb. 5. “It’s not just making the metal shell itself. That production ramp also requires…filling the shelves with explosives. We have to bring in dramatically more capacity for that. Right now, we do it in one place in one building. We’re gonna bring on two new facilities to supplement that building. We make artillery shells in two buildings about 10 miles apart. We’re gonna bring on two major new sources for artillery shells.”
In addition, while the fuze supply chain is strong, Bush said that the Army plans to add 3-4 sites to make shell charges.
The Biden administration’s supplemental request includes $850 million to buy 600,000 155mm artillery shells and $700 million to buy two million charges.
To boost 155mm ammo production, the supplemental request supports projects ranging from $650 million to fund construction of a domestic TNT production facility at Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia to $600 million to “almost triple” the amount of IMX-104 explosives that can be made at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee.
The supplemental request also includes $93 million to reestablish M6 propellant production at the Radford plant, $80 million related to production of 155mm ammo metal parts at Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Pennsylvania, $21 million for 155mm ammo metal parts production at a private facility in Hanover, Pennsylvania and $14 million to recommission a black powder production line in Louisiana.
Bush said last November that the service was building 28,000 155mm ammo rounds per month and was on the path to 36,000 early this year, around 60,000 by the end of FY ‘25, then 70,000 to 80,000 by early 2025 and finally reaching 100,000 per month by late 2025, if Congress appropriates the $3.1 billion in supplemental funding.