Ukraine Scouring World For Foundries To Make Crucial 155mm Artillery Casings

The Ukraine-Russia conflict is reminding global militaries and policy makers than industrial-strength warfare requires robust supply and logistics. 

Most western nations have let their capacities decrease for budgetary reasons but are rethinking those decisions. JL 

Howard Mustoe reports in The Telegraph:

The 155mm is the bread and butter for most Nato howitzers such as US-provided M777s, French Caesars, and German PzH 2000s, which have been gifted to Kyiv in the fight against Russia. Ukraine are searching for foundries to make cannon artillery casings as the country burns through thousands per day. Heavy use has run down artillery stockpiles in the West, Supplies of the 155mm artillery rounds are proving hard to source given the high specifications. The rounds are six inches thick and waist high when standing upright. They must be capable of withstanding the force of the explosion that fires the projectile from howitzers, which requires precision manufacturing.

Ukrainian officials are scouring the UK for foundries to make cannon artillery casings as the country burns through thousands per day, The Telegraph understands.

Supplies of the 155mm artillery rounds are proving hard to source given the high specifications, according to people familiar with the search. 

The rounds are six inches thick and waist high when standing upright on the ground. They must be capable of withstanding the force of the explosion that fires the projectile from howitzer cannons, which requires precision manufacturing.

BAE Systems makes these rounds for the Ministry of Defence in the UK, which in turn has been sending them to Ukraine as aid. It is understood that BAE has some potential to increase supplies, but Kyiv is hunting for additional companies capable of manufacturing the rounds to ensure continued supply.

BAE currently manufactures the shells at its plant in Washington in the north east of England before they are filled with a charge and assembled in Glascoed in Wales. The finished product is X-rayed to make sure there are no faults in the shell. 

There is thought to be some capacity to add shifts to production lines to increase supply, although precise figures on capacity and stockpiles are not public information.

The 155mm ammunition is the bread and butter for most Nato howitzers such as US-provided M777s, French Caesars, and German PzH 2000s, all of which have been gifted to Kyiv to aid the fight against Russia.

However, heavy use of these cannons has run down artillery stockpiles in the West. Last week, Pentagon sources told the Wall Street Journal that US stocks of 155mm had become “uncomfortably low” after it shipped 806,000 rounds of it to Ukraine. It can take up to 18 months from order to delivery of the munitions, the newspaper reported.

US stocks of 155mm have become 'uncomfortably low' after shipping rounds to Ukraine CREDIT: Alex Brandon /AP

The hunt for munitions comes amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive, as it pushes back Russian forces on the southern front in an effort to retake the city of Kherson.

Ukraine has been given long-range, precise rockets like the US-made Himars system, which has proven formidable in devastating Russian airfields and key assets like bridges. But the ammunition is expensive and in short supply. 

While Ukraine has had well-publicised successes using lightweight weaponry like NLAW and Javelin anti-tank missiles against Russian tanks, the Kremlin’s artillery outnumbers Ukraine with more than three Russian shells fired for every Ukrainian round.

The Russians also have several years worth of artillery munitions at their disposal, according to a July report from the Royal United Services Institute defence think tank. Russia is firing 20,000 shells per day compared to Ukraine’s 6,000, it said. Moscow's use of drones and radar jamming has made its strikes particularly effective against Ukrainian positions, although Ukraine’s forces have recently adapted by using decoy positions to draw Russian fire.

Ukraine will need a regular, diverse supply of ammunition, the Royal United Services Institute said. 

The report said: “One challenge here is that Nato standardisation is not very standardised, with different countries’ howitzers not only having completely different maintenance requirements but also using different charges, fuses and sometimes shells. 

“The current approach by which each country donates a battery of guns in a piecemeal way is rapidly turning into a logistical nightmare for Ukrainian forces with each battery requiring a separate training, maintenance and logistics pipeline. Making support to Ukraine sustainable requires the provision of one or two kinds of gun and for countries to step up production of the appropriate ammunition.”