The Pentagon said it will spend $6 billion to revamp its weapons technology with a facility in Texas leading the way in making munitions, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The goal includes increasing U.S. output of 155 mm shells from around 30,000 a month to 100,000 a month by the end of 2025, the Journal said. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. was producing around 14,000 155 mm shells, which measure 2 feet long and weigh 100 pounds each.
The facility in Mesquite, Texas, is one of many that has seen a boost in domestic weapons production. A Lockheed Martin facility in Arkansas is boosting output of rockets while a Harris Technologies facility, also in Arkansas, is expanding a rocket motor plant, the Journal reported.
The plant in Texas runs mostly automated. There are 27 machine operators on staff, while most of the planned 400 employes will be focusing on managing the computer-controlled equipment, according to the Journal.
The U.S. still has a way to go in producing its own supplies. The presses at the plant in Texas are from Turkey, while the robots are made in Germany, the Journal reported.
The steel-shell cases produced are transported to an Army plant in Iowa, and then the casings packed with explosives are made in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Once completed, the 155 mm shells are shipped to Army warehouses or sent directly to Ukraine, the Journal said.
This represents a shift in policy for the Pentagon, which now aims for the U.S. to be making its own ammunition. Earlier this year, the Pentagon outlined a strategy to boost its defense-industrial ecosystem, the Journal reported.
With the war in Ukraine, demand for war-fighting gear has pushed sales at General Dynamics up 20% in first quarter 2024. Last year, sales rose 13%, the Journal said