The Army and General Dynamics have opened a new facility to load, assemble and pack 155mm high-explosive artillery munitions in Camden, Arkansas.
The move aims to expand production of a key munition as part of a larger effort to increase production capacity and restore the U.S. industrial base for military equipment.
“The Army must transform and get war-winning capabilities into the hands of soldiers now, including key munitions,” said Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. “The Army remains committed to delivering relevant munitions at speed and scale to our soldiers, the joint force, and allies and partners. It is not lost on us that a key component of victory on the battlefield starts in our production facilities.”
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The projectile facility is the final stage of production. It is where the 155mm munition bodies are filled with explosive material, assembled and packed. The Camden facility contains two new load, assemble and pack lines for high-explosive projectiles.
Once fully operational the lines will be able to produce 50,000 rounds each month.
That’s part of another effort to increase total monthly output of 155mm projectiles to 100,000 each month. The new facility opened on Tuesday.
“Today is the result of a robust partnership between industry, local, state, and federal government teammates,” said Pat Mason, a senior service official standing in for the job of assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. “All parties worked quickly and flexibly to accelerate the construction you see around you.”
Former Army acquisition chief Doug Bush told Defense News in October that shoring up all the 155mm parts and material production by the end of 2025 was a major goal.
“There’s going to be a lot of ribbon cuttings between now and the end of the year,” Bush said at the time.
The Pentagon is investing billions to raise the capacity of 155mm munition production as it seeks to replenish munitions sent to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion. The move also ensures the United States has sufficient artillery stockpiles should those rounds be required.
The Army planned to spend $3.1 billion in FY24 supplemental funding to increase production.
Before the Russian-Ukraine War the U.S. capacity was about 14,400 of the artillery shells each month. But as Ukrainian forces burned through the artillery ammunition the United States recognized that replenishment could not be done with the existing infrastructure.
As of October, the Army was able to produce an estimated 40,000 artillery shells each month.
A single plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, had been the source of all 155mm production. The Army has added both a new plant in Mesquite, Texas, and the loading and packing lines in Camden, Arkansas, to meet demand.
Another loading and packing facility is planned in Parsons, Kansas, Bush said.
In addition to General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, the Army has also contracted with IMT Defense in Ontario, Canada, for another shell production facility.
In 2023, the service awarded $1.5 billion in contracts to companies globally to procure bulk energetics like TNT and IMX-104 explosive as well primers and fuses.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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