There are a lot of things happening right now in our country that have everyone on edge and this will not make you feel any better.
It appears that the United States Army is planning to triple the monthly production of artillery shells to make up for ordnance being sent to Ukraine for its defense against the Russian invasion.
Now, why would they need that?
At a forum on national defense Saturday, Doug Bush, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics, and technology, indicated that the service is seeking munitions contractors to significantly ramp up production.
“Funding is already in place, contracts are underway to basically triple 155mm production,” Bush told Defense News in an interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
American weapons assistance to Ukraine has depleted the military’s stockpile of 155mm artillery shells.
Some military experts have expressed fear that the weapons packages have left the U.S. military under-equipped for a potential conflict.
In a separate interview at the Reagan Defense Forum, according to Politico, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth indicated that the Pentagon is arranging for munitions contractors to increase the monthly production of 155mm shells from 14,000 to 40,000 by 2025.
According to Defense News, the service has recently awarded contracts to three munitions manufacturers: General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, American Ordnance, and IMT Defense.
The Pentagon’s European Command has set up a program to repair damaged howitzers in Poland, according to the Times.
Ukraine’s military has received more than 1 million shells for the M777 howitzer, according to Defense News.
The United States has even provided Ukraine with M982 “Excalibur” shells, a high-precision variant of the standard 155mm shell, according to Bloomberg.
Bush stated that the United States would be in a position to provide Ukraine with munitions for the “mid and long term” in the event Russia declines to cease its invasion and partial occupation of the country.