Submission Statement The outcomes of wars are determined in part by the capacity of factions to maintain and replace capabilities as they degrade. While Western stockpiles are large, they are not infinite, and excessive depletion could endanger other allies. Both the existing progress and political commitments reported in this article are positive signs for the sustainment, and therefore future success, of the Ukrainian war effort.
The U.S. has sharply increased production of a key artillery shell, helping to alleviate a global shortage of the ammunition that threatened to squeeze Ukrainian forces as they battle Russia, the U.S. Army’s acquisition chief said.
Doug Bush, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisitions, logistics and technology, said in an interview that the U.S. is currently producing around 24,000 155-millimeter howitzer shells each month, up from around 14,000 a month before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. wants to hit monthly output of between 70,000 and 80,000 shells a month by early in the 2025 fiscal year, he said.
“We are on a very rapid path to get to really high numbers,” Bush said. The U.S. has drawn down some of its own stockpiles of the ammunition to supply Ukraine. Bush said those stockpiles are more robust than many people believe, and that they will return to prewar levels quickly.
A more immediate concern is the West’s push to boost shipments of artillery to Ukraine, which is burning through supplies faster than they can be replenished.
For instance, despite winning U.S. government contracts to produce at full throttle, defense giant Lockheed Martin still expects it will take another 18 to 24 months before all of its munition-production lines are operating at maximum capacity, said Frank St. John, the company’s chief operating officer.
During news conferences at the air show this week, Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers who were part of a delegation said they expected Congress to increase U.S. funding for arms for the fight against Russia. “What the West does in Ukraine is one of the greatest determining factors in how the rest of the world responds to the challenges of China,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R., Kan.).
Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said U.S. lawmakers were proud that U.S. allies joined the country’s support for Ukraine. “We’re in it for the long haul,” he said. “We’re in it for them to win it, and we’re going to support them, whatever it takes.”