The US Army is planning a “dramatic” increase in the production of 155mm artillery rounds as the US has sent a staggering amount of ammunition to Ukraine over the past eight months.
According to a Pentagon fact sheet released at the end of November, the US has sent Ukraine 924,000 155mm artillery rounds to Ukraine since February 24. The US currently makes 14,000 155mm rounds each month, but the Army is set to ramp that up.
“Funding is already in place, contracts are underway to basically triple 155mm production,” Doug Bush, the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, told Defense News. “There’s funding on the Hill, in the supplemental, to more than double that again. That would take a period of years.”
Bush said that the US wants to increase the amount of ammunition it has to higher than the levels it had before Russia invaded Ukraine. “We want to be able to build our stocks not just where we started the war, but higher. We’re posturing for a pretty ― over a period of three years ― a dramatic increase in conventional artillery ammunition production,” Bush said.
Bush said that the plan will use aid that has already been authorized for Ukraine but will require new funding that’s part of the $37.7 billion aid package the White House has asked Congress to approve.
Congress is also working to include an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that would give the Pentagon wartime purchasing power to accelerate arms production. Among other things, the authority would allow the Pentagon to offer multi-year contracts for purchases that are typically reserved for larger equipment, such as warplanes and naval vessels.
According to Defense News, the Army has awarded contracts to three private companies to help in the production of 155mm artillery, including General Dynamics, American Ordnance, and IMT Defense.
The US policy of shipping tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine, led by former Raytheon board member Lloyd Austin, has been a boon for defense contractors. Last week, Raytheon was awarded a $1.2 billion contract to produce air defense systems for Ukraine.
It was a REPUBLICAN president who said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”
“This is, I repeat, the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.” -Republican president, five star general, European commander of all allied forces in WW II. Find a better source.
I have a T-shirt with that emblazoned on the front. I believe his Cross of Iron speech to have been his best speech. Thank you for remembering what Ike said. It should be tattooed on the foreheads of each and every member of congress.
Anyone in a position of power and “authority” who does NOT stand up to the funding of a Nazi human rights abuser is a COWARD!
The other cannon fodder.
Tripling it to 60k a month makes in a month what Russia uses in 3 days.
This is a much better investment than the B-21, and it needs to be tripled 2 more times if we are really going to slug it out with Russia.
We also need to upgrade our artillery units to not overheat when in continual use. Both Russian and US sources have confirmed that a substantial number of artillery units have been sent to Poland for repair, and there is conjectures about US artillery units exploding and injuring and/or killing the West Ukrainian forces using that artillery unit.
Who knows how much Russia has stockpiled since the Maidan coup in Ukraine in 2014. If not before. Media propaganda has hammered away at us for many years. Movies like Red Dawn keep the message alive that Soviet Union/Russia bad, America good, to the extent that the populace would go along with the MIC, shoveling trillions into the coffers of the MIC. And now, here we are, actually at war with Russia, using Ukraine as the ring. Bill Clinton fired off the starting gun that set things in motion (Bill did a few more things in the 90’s that have not worked out for us), the expansion East by NATO countries, the accumulation of new members to NATO.
Ukraine is a money laundering operation for the globalists exchanging cash for Crypto currency and dispersing it to their minions while operating bioweapons labs and child trafficking operations. Putin warned Ukraine to shut it down now he is doing it for them. Russia will hold Nuremburg 2.0 trials for crimes against humanity.
Congratulations; you have been hired by Mike Pillow. He’s been waiting for you.
McAfee exposed the crypto money trail. FTX is just the beginning.
Remember folks, it’s all about the Benjamins.
As long as CCP exists we need weapons.
As long as Dems and RINOS give our weapons to Ukraine we need to replenish the supply.
People in power always seek more which endangers all of us.
Most wars we’ve fought were completely unnecessary and unjustified but that doesn’t mean we don’t need arms.
As long as Dems and RINOS give our weapons to Ukraine we need to replenish the supply.
RINOS? I guess the “oversight” faction really has some folks believing the republicans are the party of peace.
The CCP has nothing to do with the safety and security of the united states …
Early in the conflict, my main hope was that Russia would be strong enough keep the US from taking Russian territory east of Crimea and provoke Russia into nuclear war.
Now we brag about being able to cause an explosion east of Moscow, showcase a brand new highly profitable B-21 Stealth Bomber, and when we finally get around to discussing building up our ground forces, act as if increasing our monthly production of artillery shells from a day’s supply to three days supply is a dramatic achievement.
Russia is flat out winning this conflict.
So do you expect that we will have a month with Russian net territorial gains again soon? Or how much more of the already annexed oblasts do you think the Russians have to vacate to achieve the goals of the SMO?
Russia will move forward when it is desirable for them. Right now they have short supply lines, a favorable kill ratio, and mostly can protect what they have gained.
When they have the resources to protect newly taken territories from behind-the-lines US freedom fighters, they will take new land.
They have learned from Afghanistan and Iraq. We could afford to spend 4 trillion or more dollars on wars that resulted in other nations hating us. They cannot.
Russia seems to be working hard to avoid that fate. It is bad enough for them that the US and most of Europe hates their guts.
So a significant withdrawal, say from Kherson or Zaporizhzhia would not be part of the master plan?
Good of you to acknowledge the importance of the resistance movement many here claimed that it played no role or that people east of the Dnieper wanted tp be liberated by the Russians from the evil Kyiv regime – you suggesting that the ‘US freedom fighters’ could work in those areas suggests that you do not believe in that nonsense.
Insightful.
I’m interesting the hear your thoughts when Ukraine significantly retake more land.
I expect your response to be something like this: Russia has 3 million mobilized troops ready to take all of Ukraine and something about Neo Nazis and of Course US/NATO are defeated.
If it happens, I will admit I was wrong. Up until recently, I expected the US to take back a lot more territory from Russia than we actually did in our fall offensive. We took back Kherson – not a bad gain. And then did not seem to go further.
I am assuming that their WILL be a Russian winter offensive, followed by a spring or summer US counter offensive. Right now the score is Russia +20%. They have taken around 20% (maybe as low as 15%) of Ukraine.
The reason I think that Russia will do well is the artillery situation. Our Himars have done great work for the US. We just don’t have anywhere near enough of them. The US admits that the number of them in Ukraine is less than 25.
Final comment.
One reason I despise the bombing attacks deep in Russian territory is that it increases the odds of all of this escalating in very bad ways.
I am 100% against actions leading to a nuclear exchange. More artillery shells??? If things go badly for the US, I would rather we counter Russian troops moving towards Berlin with ground troops, and not by bombing Russian cities. The relative stalemate in Ukraine is not horrible. The trade off of us bombing Russian targets inside of Russia and bridges and their ship, in exchange for them taking out the Ukrainian power grid hampering our transportation to the front lines, is a sucky and very bad trade.
-Early in the conflict, my main hope was that Russia would be strong enough to stay out of Ukraine.
-We (Putin Lovers) also brag about being able to cause never ending explosions in Ukraine.
-If you are going to call out US then be strong enough to call out Russia as well in the name of ANTIWAR but you won’t because you are clearly a Kremlin supporter.
Ramping up shell production for Ukraine is certainly too little and too late, but artillery is on the way out anyway. AI hunter/killers are much more efficient.
For $1.2 Billion we should be able to buy PEACE. I know, enough said….
The real “powers that be” gave up on peace centuries ago.
I’m a realist Thomas… At the rate we are going, someday and perhaps soon we will use everything in our arsenal because man seems fated to it.
Two minutes,
To midnight,
The hands that threaten doom.
Seriously? Two minutes to Midnight? Do you know exactly what that is based on and thank you?….
And science will agree with you on this. The question is how soon is soon?
Paranoia, ego, and insecurity is humankind worst enemy.
It’s a too little, too late, for the Incompetent Evil Empire.