The defense world is (understandably) enthralled by innovation and new tech, but the older, less exciting stuff is just as important in modern warfighting—especially the 155mm artillery shell. The problem is that the US has struggled to produce them, and munition stocks have become a hot topic (just ask Bridge Colby). On Wednesday, the Army took a step towards fixing that, investing $635M to build a modernized ammunition plant in Iowa.
The $635M fixed-price contract to design and build the Future Artillery Complex (FAC) in Iowa was awarded to MSM Group North America, the US arm of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), as first reported by Axios this week. The plant, per CSG, will enable the loading of 36,000 155mm artillery rounds per month. The munition is used in the M777 Howitzer, M109 Paladin, and other artillery systems.
Rippin’ rounds: Since 155mm rounds weren’t extensively used in Iraq and Afghanistan, a lot of Pentagon planners thought the century-old munition was growing obsolete in modern warfare. Like a lot of defense thinking, Ukraine flipped that upside down, firing more than 5,000 155mm rounds on average daily and around 2M annually.
That’s made a big difference on the battlefield. According to a Reuters report last year, when Ukraine fired 10,000 shells per day, 35 to 45 soldiers were killed and about 250 wounded. When they fired 5,000, more than 100 were killed and at least a thousand wounded daily.
Those figures and their extensive use in Ukraine quickly showed how important the munition could be in a future conventional fight, and the US Army rushed to pump out 100,000 155mm shells per month by late 2025.
Here’s how that’s going:
- Last year, the US and Europe produced roughly 1.2M 155mm shells, as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned that Russia is quadrupling production rates.
- As of June, the US Army confirmed that the current output remains at 40,000 shells per month, far less than the 100,000 target but way up from 14,500 when Russia first invaded.
- Last month, the Army said it was “considering terminating” General Dynamics’ contract to manage three new 155mm production lines in Texas because GD “failed to complete the projects on time or make meaningful progress.”
- Russia, meanwhile, cranked out an estimated 4.5M 152mm shells (their preferred diameter) in 2024. A Bain & Company analysis also found that Russia’s 152mm shell is four times cheaper to produce than the NATO-standard 155mm shell.
Munition moves: Yikes. But worry not (well, maybe a little), the Army’s new plant is here to save the day. The Iowa plant, according to the Army’s statement, will feature “21st century manufacturing technology” that will provide a “scalable, flexible, and affordable explosive load, assemble, and pack (LAP) facility” full of robotics, automation, and all that fun stuff.
“Modernizing the industrial base and replacing critical munition stockpiles are high priorities for the Defense Department,” Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, the PEO for ammunition, said in the Army’s statement. “Projects like the FAC are geared to improve the Army’s ability to scale production between surge and down times while also providing flexible capacity to produce future go-to-war rounds.”
“The FAC represents much-needed new technology investments to modernize the Arsenal of Democracy in order to meet the evolving demands of the warfighter in 2025 and beyond,” Reim added.
CSG, MSM Group North America’s Czech owner, is also pretty fired up that a European company is stepping in to help build up American munition production. “This is a tremendous success, made unique by the fact that the trust was given to a company that is part of a European defense industry group,” CSG boss Michal Strnad said in a statement. “This project is proof of CSG’s global reach and its ability to contribute to strengthening the defense readiness of our allies.”