The US Army’s Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition just inaugurated a brand new Universal Artillery Projectiles Line in Mesquite, Texas. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems who is set to operate the state-of-the-art plant also joined in, celebrating the May 29th event.
As best described by Christine Wormuth, the Secretary of the Army during the event, the new Mesquite facility is one of several new production facilites currently being built across the country in order to modernize the nation’s defense industrial base. Benefiting from a $576 millions investment from the Department of Defense, the new plant’s modular infrastructure offers flexibility in producing critical metal parts for a variety of artillery projectiles. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has been brought aboard the project, having gained visibility operating the army’s Scranton, Pennsylvannia Ammunition Plant where most of the army’s 155mm ammuniton has been in production for decades. The company is also cognizant in providing the highly specialized artillery ammunition production tooling and equipments such as long-stroke and high-tonnage forging capabilities, the army has specified. By incorporating high levels of automation, modern manufacturing practices, and digital-data-capture, the new facility is part of a transformation effort led by the Department of Defense whose paramount objective is to rapidly bridge the gap in ammunition production capabilities, which the Russia – Ukraine’s conflict has only exacerbated.
Since the start of that conflict in February 2022, the compounded efforts of the United States and its allied nations to supply Ukraine Armed Forces with sufficient weapons and war making materiel have lagged in the highly critical supply of 155mm artillery shells.
From the battlefield, suggestions that innovative technologies like UAVs, drones, cruise and hypersonic ballistic missiles were taking centerstage in the conduct of modern warfare operations proved presumptuous. In facts, with up to 80% of soldiers casualties attributed to its effects, artillery fire and the vast quantities of ammunition it requires in order to be effective, have once more confirmed its “God of War” status. According to a Time Magazine article published in February 2024, Russia has deployed some 4,000 artillery pieces from which it can fire up to 10,000 shells daily along the 600 kilometer-long frontline it contests to Ukraine, which in turn, only fields 350 artillery pieces whose ammuntion alotment allows it to fire a mere 2,000 rounds per day.
A recent report produced by Bain & Company consulting firm was able to bring light to the fact that Russian arms industry has been able to sustainable produce 12,320 artillery shells each day, giving a yearly rate of 4.5 million shells per year, three times the 1.3 million shells manufactured by the US and its allies.
Actively facing the issue since February 2022, the Department of Defense has provided $2 billion of funding in support of increasing 155mm shells production towards reaching the 2 million rounds yearly within two years. Pursuing a 700 percent increase in 155mm production, the Army has sought to qualify additional suppliers for metal shells and metal forging capabilities, bringing the Mesquite initiative into play.
In recent military operations, massive employment of Russian artillery accompanied by tactical surprise have allowed Russian forces to achieve a breakthrough north of Kharkiv, seizing three villages. Enjoying a five-to-one advantage in artillery shells, the Russian army was able to bring an imminent threat to Ukraine’s second largest city. While several additional months will be needed for the Mesquite plant to reach its full producing capabilities, superior Russian artillery firepower remain a latent threat.
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