Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said the service branch aims to increase by twofold the production of 155mm artillery shells by October, Defense One reported Monday.
The shells are being used by Ukraine to counter Russian aggression and Bush associated the planned increase with a new manufacturing facility the Army is constructing in Texas, which the assistant secretary said will “have an entirely new way of making the shell, using entirely new tech we’ve never used before.”
According to a slide shared at an event, U.S. production of 155mm munitions is expected to increase from 28,000 in October 2023 to approximately 60,000 this October and 100,000 by October 2025.
Bush, a previous Wash100 awardee, noted that the large use of such shells may prompt the U.S. to reassess how much it needs in its own munition stockpiles.
“If larger stockpiles are a way to mitigate risk for an extended conventional conflict, then that needs to be looked at,” he said.