Unprepared for long war, US Army under gun to make more ammo

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Unprepared for long war, US Army under gun to make more ammo

One of the most important munitions of the Ukraine war comes from a historic factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steel rods are brought in by train to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant to be forged into the artillery shells Kyiv can’t get enough of. The plant is at the vanguard of a...

apnews.com

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — One of the most important munitions of the Ukraine war comes from a historic factory in this city built by coal barons, where tons of steel rods are brought in by train to be forged into the artillery shells Kyiv can’t get enough of — and that the U.S. can’t produce fast enough.

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant is at the vanguard of a multibillion-dollar Pentagon plan to modernize and accelerate its production of ammunition and equipment not only to support Ukraine, but to be ready for a potential conflict with China.

But it is one of just two sites in the U.S. that make the steel bodies for the critical 155 mm howitzer rounds that the U.S. is rushing to Ukraine to help in its grinding fight to repel the Russian invasion in the largest-scale war in Europe since World War II.

The invasion of Ukraine revealed that the U.S. stockpile of 155 mm shells and those of European allies were unprepared to support a major and ongoing conventional land war, sending them scrambling to bolster production. The dwindling supply has alarmed U.S. military planners, and the Army now plans to spend billions on munitions plants around the country in what it calls its most significant transformation in 40 years.

So, they're going to be expanding production munitions and calling it the "most significant transformation in 40 years." They've already sent quite a bit to Ukraine, and now they're worried they won't have enough if we get into a war with China.

Ukraine is firing 6000 to 8000 shells per day, and the pre-war US monthly production of shells was 14,000 per month.

The Army is spending about $1.5 billion to ramp up production of 155 mm rounds from 14,000 a month before Russia invaded Ukraine to over 85,000 a month by 2028, U.S. Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo told a symposium last month.

Already, the U.S. military has given Ukraine more than 1.5 million rounds of 155 mm ammunition, according to Army figures.

But even with higher near-term production rates, the U.S. cannot replenish its stockpile or catch up to the usage pace in Ukraine, where officials estimate that the Ukrainian military is firing 6,000 to 8,000 shells per day. In other words, two days’ worth of shells fired by Ukraine equates to the United States’ monthly pre-war production figure.

Another problem they're facing is that the plant in Scranton is pretty old is in the National Registry of Historic Places.

But the buildings are on the National Historic Registry of Historic Places, limiting how the Army can alter the structures.

Inside, the floor is crowded with piles of shells, defunct equipment and production lines where robotic arms, saws, presses and other machines cut, heat, forge, temper, pressure test, wash and paint the shells.

The plant is in the midst of $120 million in modernization plans and the Army hopes to open a new production line there by 2025.

Still, clearing space for it has been a complicated task while the military adds newer machinery to make existing lines more efficient.