Inside the U.S. Factory Making Ukraine's Most Important Ammo

The most significant ammunition for Ukraine is produced in a factory in Pennsylvania. In essence, 155-millimeter millimeter rounds are enormous bullets employed in artillery guns. Since 1953, the Scranton Army ammunition plant is currently producing steel shells. Currently, demand is so great that the plant produces 11 000 of them each month, but Ukraine may use more than half of that amount daily, causing a global shortage. Given this, why is this specific artillery ammo so crucial to Ukraine, and how is the U.S. arming them during the shortage?

Russian military aircraft outnumbered Ukrainian military aircraft ten to one at the beginning of the conflict. Still, Ukraine discovered means to shoot down Russian jets and fend off its missile attacks. Putin switched to using heavy artillery strikes, but Ukraine needed assistance from the United States and its NATO partners because most of its artillery equipment was from the Soviet era and needed ammunition provided mostly by China and North Korea, two of Russia's allies. Only the United States provided Ukraine with 200 artillery pieces, which needed their existing supply of ammunition. 155 mm rounds are currently one of Ukraine's greatest important weaponry. Howitzers, essentially a cannon, and mortar combined, fire 155s, which are the ideal blend of weight and force. These enormous guns blast shells high into the air so that they fall to earth and strike their targets. The 155-millimeter millimeter bullet is sufficiently tiny to fire up to 20 miles away, but it still causes significant damage. It contains 24 pounds of TNT, which explodes upon impact, scattering lethal shrapnel in all directions. These rounds can be purchased for as cheap as $800, whereas Javelin anti-tank missiles may cost up to $78,000. The M795 155 mm round steel shells, the most basic in the U.S., are produced by the Scranton Army Ammunition Plan.

Roughly half of the U.S.'s supply of 24 000 units per month, approximately twice as much as before Russia invaded Ukraine, comes from this Factory. Everything begins in the billet yard, where workers transfer steel rods to the forge shop, where four robotic saws cut the rods into billets that are 14 inches long. Once heated for an hour at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, they become softer and easier to form. You couldn't possibly heat-seal a billet in Play-Doh before using machinery to stretch and mold it into its final shape. Another one makes it aerodynamic by adding a snout. They are examined before being fed to the manufacturing shop, followed by the grand finale. After the final lathe and polishing, workers mount the shelves on hooks and paint them with new paint after reheating the billets and cooling them in a 6,000-gallon oil bath. The whole procedure takes about three days. After the shells are finished, they are transported by truck to another factory where TNT is added. At this point, they are prepared for the battlefield, where soldiers will fuse the shells to create fatal bombs.

Since World War One, 155s have been deployed by the U.S. and its allies. They were powerful enough to pass through opposing lines while tiny enough to reach targets as far as seven miles away. Since the end of World War II, 155-millimeter millimeter rounds have been the norm for NATO members. Today, the U.S. has rounds with GPS guidance systems costing more than $100,000 each.

Since the start of the conflict, every NATO member has provided Ukraine with military assistance, including tank donations. Gun anti-aircraft launchers and systems for defending against missiles. The United States leads the list, providing weaponry worth almost 42 billion dollars to Ukraine, while pricy weapons like these garner media attention. Ukraine is utilizing artillery more than anything else. According to a June report, Ukrainian forces reportedly fired up to 8155-millimeter millimeter shells per day this past spring. Germany provided Ukraine with so many shells that it only had about 20 000 left in its stockpile—enough only for a few days of intense combat.

While the state of the country's stockpile is a closely guarded secret, some analysts are worried that it may run low. The U.S. has delivered over 2 million 155-millimeter rounds to Ukraine, but most of those came from its stockpile, which it uses to train soldiers and assist other allies. To replenish its stockpile, the U.S. had previously borrowed 500,000 155 mm shells from South Korea. In addition, it has resorted to Japan to obtain additional TNT. The Army has invested billions in modernizing its factories to produce more 155s; by 2028, they hope to produce 85,000 monthly shells. Although the stockpile could be refilled with over three times the present output, it might still take years. The United States declared in July 2023 that it would provide Ukraine with a contentious type of 155 armed with cluster bombs. These rounds are prohibited in more than 120 countries because the bomblets sometimes fall short of exploding on impact and harm civilians who find them later. Nearly 40% of recorded cluster bomb deaths are civilians, and each shell incorporates 88 small explosives or bomblets that are let go in mid-air. They may encompass up to seven acres while destroying everything from trenches to tanks. President Biden has stated that the use of cluster bombs is merely a temporary fix and that the United States has already provided thousands to Ukraine as part of its most recent 800 million dollars military assistance package in July. Ukraine The U.S. army claims its goals for increasing its 155 output are on Pace, which is good for Ukraine as it could mean the difference in taking back their country in June when they established a counter-offensive against Russian troops. They initially tried to break Russian defenses with heavy tanks but switched their strategy to artillery fire. President Vladimir Zelenski set a lack of ammunition as preventing his military from recovering Russian-occupied territory more quickly.