New 155mm projectile factory launches in Texas

30 May, 2024 The General Dynamics plant in Mesquite (Texas) for the production of 155mm shells. May 2024, USA. Photo credits: The New York Times

A plant for the production of 155-mm shells is being prepared for launch in the state of Texas in the United States. The New York Times published photos from the new facility. The new General Dynamics plant in Mesquite will produce 30,000 shells per month.

The facility, which cost more than £500 million to build, will consist of three production lines and create 350 new jobs. It was built in 10 months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thanks to funding from Congress and with the help of the Turkish company Repkon.

The General Dynamics plant in Mesquite (Texas) for the production of 155mm shells. May 2024, USA. Photo credits: The New York Times

Repkon, a defense company based in Istanbul, assembles robots and computer-controlled lathes for businesses.

In addition, about 36,000 shells per month are produced by plants in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Pentagon is also planning to launch a second line to equip ammunition with explosives at a military plant in Iowa and partially reopen a plant in Parsons, Kansas, that packs shell charges, which was closed in the 2000s. To provide Ukraine with weapons, the Pentagon has set a goal of producing up to 100,000 artillery shells per month by the end of 2025.

18-foot rectangular steel rods for making 155mm shells, USA. Photo credits: The New York Times

"The 100,000-per-month goal represents a nearly tenfold increase in production from a few years ago," the US says. According to the NATO Secretary General, Ukraine fired between 4,000 and 7,000 such projectiles a day during the first few months of 2023.

155mm artillery shells made in the early stages of production, USA.

Photo credits: The New York Times

Major shipments of U.S. artillery ammunition resumed in April after Congress passed a £61 billion aid package to Ukraine.