Why the US Military isn't Out of Ammo

Is the American Military REALLY low on artillery ammunition? 155mm artillery has been sent to the war in Ukraine to the tune of 1 million rounds. The military industrial complex is working at surge production capacity to innovate and keep up. Will the US Army actually run out of ammo?

President Joe Biden said the US military is low on 155mm artillery shells In July 2023 . The white house attempted to walk the statement back but Estimates do show it will take 5 years to restock the arsenal of 155mm artillery shells, 6 years for stinger missiles, and 5 years for javelin missiles. It’s like Sun Tzu Famously said, don’t get high on your own supply. Why will it take so long, can't you just throw oodles of money at the problem and fix it tomorrow? Not necessarily. However, there are conflicting reports from other military experts that say the claims of NATO ammo shortages are vastly overblown so what’s really going on here? Either way,This has actually revealed wider issues within the modern day military industrial complex. The U.S military now faces three challenges to their supply chain including; lean manufacturing techniques, access to supplies of rare earths, and advanced semiconductor chips. Lets investigate.

Written by: Chris Cappy and George Burden
Edited by: Savvy Studios

The U.S. Army discovered they need to boost production of their 155 artillery shells from the Current rate of 14,000 per month up to 85,000 shells per month by 2028. Because Estimates from earlier this year state that in 5 days the Ukrainian military likely burns through more artillery shells than the US produces in an entire month. So the DoD is increasing production 6 fold. There are 2 reasons for this. To sustain deliveries to Ukraine, while also accounting for what's called the DoD’s operational plans. OPLANs are basically contingency plans created for potential wars with countries like Russia or China. So OPLANs are a document that the US Chairman of the Joint chiefs of staff is required to create by law. It states the US needs X amount of 155mm artillery shells on the shelf just in case a war with China or North Korea breaks out.
Why will it take so long to ramp up production? Since 1953 the US Army has forged artillery shells at Scranton Army ammunition plant in Pennsylvania which has been run by General Dynamics since 2006. Then in Tennessee BAE systems employees mix together 24 lbs of explosives for the shells. That’s then poured into a shell at a factory in rural Iowa. So its not the lack of materials. The U.S. actually has enough raw materials stock piled to create the munitions, but what they lack is the heavy equipment used to make the shells. These specialized machines for artillery production are giants, the size of entire buildings. You can’t just go and buy one at your local thrift store.

#WAR #MILITARY #ARMY
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Sources:
https://www.csis.org/analysis/rebuilding-us-inventories-six-critical-systems
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/arms-manufacturers-struggle-to-supply-ukraine-with-enough-ammunition
https://www.jmc.army.mil/Installations.aspx?id=IowaOverview
https://ig.ft.com/us-defence-industry/
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/laplante-congress-will-support-multiyear-weapons-munitions-procurements/
https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/02/03/the-armys-multiyear-contracts-are-a-model-for-other-services/
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/09/military-aid-ukraine-russia-munition-stockpile-shortages/
https://www.reuters.com/world/south-korea-lend-500000-rounds-artillery-shells-us-report-2023-04-12/
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-china-taiwan/china-to-impose-sanctions-on-u-s-firms-over-taiwan-arms-sales-idUSKBN27B0P0

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