US nears milestone in artillery production, aiming for over million shells in 2025

The US Army is rapidly scaling up its artillery production, aiming to surpass one million 155mm howitzer shells in 2025 amid growing global conflict demands.

Although it will miss its ambitious target of producing 100,000 rounds per month by October 2024, officials expect the milestone will be achieved just months later, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The Army’s monthly output currently stands at 40,000 rounds—up from 14,500 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That’s nearly triple the pre-war rate, though still short of initial projections.

“Several of the investments that we made are just coming online now, a little later than we had hoped, but these were big bets, and we were given the mission to go fast,” said Maj. Gen. John Reim, who oversees the joint armaments and ammunition program. “We put multiple bets down, and realized some risk…but we will continue to work through that.”

In February, the Army announced production targets of 60,000 rounds per month by October, 75,000 by April 2025, and 100,000 by October 2024. The multi-billion-dollar expansion effort includes upgrades to WWII-era facilities and the opening of new ones across North America.

“You know, I tell folks all the time that we're literally making history, and that we've not seen this level of investment in our industrial base since World War II,” Reim said.

Plants in Texas, Canada, and Arkansas have recently come online, with another in Kansas expected this summer. Once fully operational, these facilities will collectively exceed the 100,000-round monthly benchmark early next year.

Reim emphasized that the Army had to reopen old production lines and seek new sources for critical materials like TNT, which the US hasn’t produced domestically since 1986. The service has since sourced alternative vendors globally.

“We've learned a lot of lessons from our Ukraine experience, and we're just so fortunate that we're learning that now, and not with our blood and treasure on the line,” Reim added.

The artillery expansion may serve as a model for other branches, particularly the Navy, which also faces industrial shortfalls.