Pentagon Plans On Increasing Artillery Ammunition Production By 500% For Ukraine
The Pentagon has plans of increasing its production of artillery ammunition by 500% in the next two years, according to a New York Times report published on January 24, 2022. This comes at a time when the US is sending millions of shells to Ukraine — a move that is dangerously depleting its artillery stockpiles.
Ever since Russia launched its military incursion into Ukraine, the US has promised to send Ukraine over one million 155mm artillery shells. Prior to the US Army starting efforts to boost production, it produced
14,400 155mm shells monthly. However, under this new plan, the number could reach north of 90,000 on a monthly basis.
Per the New York Times report, the Army reported that the plan will involve applying factories and bringing in new producers to the fold in a campaign described as “the most aggressive modernization effort in nearly 40 years” of the American military-industrial complex.
According to Dave DeCamp, “The unguided 155mm shells that are fired out of Howitzers include parts produced by several arms manufacturers, including steel bodies made by General Dynamics and explosives mixed by BAE Systems.” DeCamp added, “American Ordnance pours the explosives into the bodies, and several other contractors produce the fuzes that are screwed into the shells.”
The US Deep State’s plans to boost ammo production in the next two years show that it’s committing long-term support for Ukraine against Russia for the next few years. In other words, peace should not be expected in Ukraine anytime soon.
There are questions about this program’s viability. US military officials are concerned about the US’s capacity to arm Ukraine, while being able to arm itself as well. Ukrainian military forces are estimated to be firing off roughly 90,000 rounds of artillery on a monthly basis. This is more than double what the US and Europe are currently producing.
Per DeCamp’s report, the US has had to turn to a relatively secret stockpile of weapons that it keeps in Israel just to match Ukraine’s artillery demand. In addition, The Pentagon has called on US forces stationed in South Korea to send supplies to Ukraine.
By going all in on Ukraine, stopping short of directly sending US troops there, the US is now compromising its defense infrastructure. At a time when the US’s border is collapsing, the last thing we need is to spend defense resources on a country that’s thousands of miles away.
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