Inside the US Factory Making Ukraine’s Most Important Ammo | Big Business | Insider Business

[Music] this Factory in Pennsylvania is making Ukraine's most important ammunition 155 millimeter rounds are basically giant bullets used in artillery guns the Scranton Army ammunition plant has been making steel shells since 1953 and today demand is so high that it's making 11 000 of them every month Ukraine may be firing more than half of that each day so there's a global shortage some experts are concerned that the US is burning through its own Supply so why is this particular artillery ammo so important in Ukraine and how is the U.S arming them during the shortage the start of the war air power was expected to be the key to a Russian Victory they outnumbered Ukraine in military aircrafts ten to one but Ukraine found ways to shoot down Russia's warplanes and defend against its missile attacks Putin pivoted to massive artillery strikes the problem was most of Ukraine's artillery weapons dated back to the Soviet era they required ammunition produced mostly by Russia and its supporters China and North Korea so Ukraine called on the U.S and its NATO allies for Aid the U.S alone sent Ukraine about 200 artillery guns that required ammo they already had in stock 155 millimeter rounds now they're one of Ukraine's most critical weapons 155s are the perfect balance between power and weight they're shot from howitzers which are basically a cannon and mortar combined these massive guns fire shells high up into the air so that they drop down onto their targets 155 millimeter rounds are small enough to fire up to 20 miles but still do serious damage they're packed with 24 pounds of TNT and explode on impact sending deadly shrapnel in all directions they're also less expensive than fancier weapons Javelin anti-tank missiles can cost as much as 78 thousand dollars and these shells sell for as little as eight hundred dollars the Scranton Army ammunition plan builds the steel shells for the US's most basic 155 millimeter round the m795 the US is producing 24 000 a month almost double what it was making before Russia invaded Ukraine and nearly half of that Supply comes from this Factory everything starts in the Billet yard workers move steel rods to the next phase the forge shop four robotic saws slice the rods into 14-inch long chunks called billets efficiency is key to speed then they heat them for an hour at 2 000 degrees Fahrenheit this softens them up so they're easy to shape You couldn't possibly barge a Billet in temperature seal in the Play-Doh then machines stretch and shape the billets into their final form another one adds a nose which makes it aerodynamic it comes into the Press it's still a tube as it leaves the Press it's now projectile they're inspected and then fed to the production shop then the grand finale workers reheat the billets then cool them in a 6 000 gallon oil bath after some final lathing and polishing workers hang the shelves on hooks then they get a fresh paint job the entire process takes about three days after the shells are done they take a truck ride to another Factory that adds TNT then they're ready for the battlefield it's there that soldiers will add the fuse and turn it into a lethal bomb 155s have been used by the US and its allies since World War one they were small enough to hit targets up to seven miles away but packed enough power to penetrate enemy trenches United Nations guns go into action against red positions after World War II 155 millimeter became the standard artillery size for NATO countries today the US has rounds equipped with GPS guidance systems that cost over one hundred thousand dollars per shell since the War Began all the NATO allies have sent Ukraine some form of military aid they've donated tanks anti-aircraft guns rocket launchers and missile defense systems the U.S tops the list they've sent roughly 42 billion dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine while expensive weapons like these make headlines it's artillery that Ukraine is using more than anything this past spring Ukrainian forces were firing up to 8155 millimeter shells a day according to a June report Germany sent Ukraine so many shells that it had about 20 000 left in its stockpile that's enough only for a few days of intensive combat critics are worried the same thing could happen to the United States what we need most of all is artillery shows and uh they're in short supply we're working on that the U.S has sent more than 2 million 155 millimeter rounds to Ukraine but most of that came from its own stockpile which it uses to train soldiers and Aid other allies while the true status of the nation's stockpile is a closely guarded secret some experts are concerned that it could be running low the scale versus American capacity to build are very different the US has already borrowed half a million 155 millimeter shells from South Korea to help resupply its own stockpile it's also turned to Japan for more TNT we've hit the level at which the Pentagon planners are uncomfortable going any lower because of the demands for other War plans [Music] the Army has spent billions updating its factories to make more 155s they want to make 85 000 shells per month by 2028. over three times the current output but it could still take years to refill the stockpile you need to hire people you need more of the steel to build the shells you need to have a larger Factory space you have to follow all of the safety requirements because each of these has to meet a military specification for usage and have to go through the inspection process in July 2023 the U.S announced its decision to send Ukraine a controversial type of 155 equipped with cluster bombs Russia has also used them each shell contains 88 small explosives or bomblets that are released in mid-air they can cover an area up to seven acres and destroy everything from trenches to tanks but these rounds are banned in over 120 countries because the bomblets sometimes fail to explode on impact and harm civilians who find them later on 94 percent of recorded cluster bomb deaths are civilians and almost 40 percent of those are children us has already sent thousands to Ukraine in its latest 800 million dollar military aid package in July President Biden has said that the cluster bombs are only a temporary solution Ukraine President Vladimir zelenski set a lack of ammunition is what's keeping his military from reclaiming russian-occupied territory more quickly but the U.S army says its goals for increasing its 155 output are on Pace that's good for Ukraine as it could be the difference in taking back their country in June they launched a counter-offensive against Russian troops they tried to break Russian defenses with heavy tanks at first but switched their strategy to artillery fire been moving slowly so they'll need plenty of shells for the Long Haul uh [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Business Insider

Views: 7,756,842

Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, Ammo, Ammunition, Ukraine

Id: wRtYyjvYTWk

Length: 9min 14sec (554 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 06 2023