The US Army has opened an immense new artillery projectile loading facility which, once up to speed, will be able to produce half of the targeted monthly output of 155mm shells across the entire US industrial base.
Located in Camden, Arkansas, the facility features two Load, Assemble, and Pack (LAP) lines that will produce completed high-explosive projectiles at a rate of 50,000 per month when fully operational.
The US Army has a 100,000-shell-per-month target and has been developing its industrial base to reach this goal.
Announced in a 22 April US Army release, the LAP site is the final stage in artillery projectile production, where 155mm metal projectile bodies are filled with explosive material, assembled with other components, and packed for shipment.
The US Army said, since 2022, it had nearly quadrupled monthly production of 155mm artillery shells, citing the need to “response to global demands… and incorporate lessons learned from current conflicts”.
Without being named by the US Army, the conflict referred to, given the above timeline, is the Ukraine-Russia war, which has seen massive use of artillery since Moscow’s large-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
Up to January 2025, under the presidency of President Joe Biden, the US provided more than three million 155mm artillery rounds to Ukraine.
At the planned 100,000-per-month US Army production target, it would take two and a half years to replenish 155mm artillery munitions stocks given to Ukraine.
“The [US] Army remains committed to delivering relevant munitions at speed and scale to our soldiers, the joint force, and allies and partners. It is not lost on us that a key component of victory on the battlefield starts in our production facilities,” said Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, during a tour of the Camden site.
Since returning to office earlier this year, President Donald Trump temporarily halted the flow of previously committed military equipment and munitions to Ukraine, and has not pledged a single new assistance package to Kyiv.
Artillery munitions lead global rearmament process
Western countries are embarking on a reindustrialisation of their defence production and manufacturing bases, as supply chain weaknesses and provision of artillery ammunition to Ukraine in recent years has dwindled stocks.
The US has been particularly keen to scale up its own ammunition manufacturing capability. In 2024 the US announced plans to reacquire an in-country production capability for high explosive material, namely Trinitrotoluene (TNT), at a new site in Kentucky.
Earlier, in August 2024, UK-based Astor Defence revealed that it will expand is operations into the US with the opening of a new manufacturing, production, and testing facility in Florida. The newly created Astor Defense USA will focus on the production of small, medium, and large calibre ammunition cans as well as spiral wound mortar containers.
The company will provide its own military grade TNT products, as well as ball powder propellant for small caliber ammunition, primers, brass cartridge cases, and projectiles.
