All defective mortar shells have been replaced

A Ukrainian manufacturer has replaced the defective 120 mm artillery mines that were supplied to the Defense Forces last year.

The Ministry of Strategic Industries reported this in response to a request from Economichna Pravda.

As noted, all the ammunition was replaced at the expense of manufacturer within the warranty period.

The media clarified that the final number of problematic mortar rounds supplied by one of the state-owned enterprises amounted to 39,455 pieces.

The replacement of defective mines took place in stages every month, starting in December 2024. At the same time, the plant shipped ammunition manufactured under existing contracts to customers.

“Changes have been made to the design of mortar rounds, production technology has been improved, and quality control of products has been strengthened. The new batches of 120 mm mortar rounds were manufactured using the modified technology and passed several tests, including in the military,” the Ministry of Strategic Industries said in a response.

The Ministry also noted that two criminal proceedings are underway to investigate those who may be responsible for supplying low-quality ammunition to the Ukrainian army last fall. In addition, the Ministry will report a total of 2.4 million mines and artillery munitions produced in 2024.

Replacement of defective mortar shells

The scandal with the supply of defective mines to the frontline occurred last fall. Already in January, Herman Smetanin, Minister of Strategic Industries, informed Militarnyi that an audit had revealed the supply of 15 batches of low-quality artillery mines, totaling 54,000 units, which the manufacturer had pledged to replace free of charge with similar-quality products.

The seized 120-mm artillery mines were returned to the manufacturer for rejection and further repair of ammunition suitable for recovery. All work is being carried out at the supplier’s expense.

Smetanin said that the defects of the defective shells were

• Incorrect geometry of the cases with a smaller diameter of the rimfire rings and shanks;
• leaky packaging of powder charges;
• defective capsules of high explosive charges.

These shortcomings resulted in projectile failures within the barrel channel during firing or caused the mine to fall short of the target immediately after firing. At the same time, according to the Minister, the use of B-429E “tank” fuzes instead of standard artillery M12 fuzes in the mines did not lead to any problems in operation.

The defective mines delivered to the plant were subjected to a defect inspection, during which samples with the incorrect body shape were rejected, inoperable caps were replaced with new ones, and old fuzes were replaced with M-12 fuzes made in Ukraine. The powder charges were dried and then repacked in hermetically sealed vacuum packaging.