Ukrainian industry will expand the production of NATO-standard 155-mm artillery shells by the end of 2023.

Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries, voiced this in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

According to the Minister, in July 2023, Ukraine produced more than twice as much mortar and artillery ammunition as in the whole of 2022. However, he acknowledged that it would be years before Ukraine could produce enough ammunition to meet its current needs.

Currently, Ukraine has already mastered the production of Soviet-caliber ammunition, such as 122-mm and 152-mm shells. However, the Ukrainian army is gradually switching to Western caliber 155-mm artillery.

The need to launch the production of NATO-standard ammunition is also reinforced by the gradual depletion of the reserves of the allied countries and the insufficient pace of their production, which does not cover the current costs.

Production of 155-mm ammunition

In June 2023, the spokeswoman of the Ukroboronprom State Concern (now Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC) reported that it was working on the development of an artillery 155mm projectile.

Subsequently, in July, information appeared that Ukraine ordered hulls for 155mm artillery shells from France.

It was reported that in June, the Forges de Tarbes plant received a contract for the supply of 60,000 hulls intended for the production of 155mm shells, which will be delivered in 2024. Ukraine became the largest customer of the French Forges de Tarbes factory.

Later, on July 17, Jérôme Garnache-Creuillot, CEO of Europlasma, announced an additional record annual contract for the manufacture of 120,000 large-caliber shells, which will be delivered to the customer starting in 2026 for at least three years.

According to the media, the agreement was signed with the Ukrainian company, which is a part of the Ukrainian Defense Industry joint-stock company (known as Ukroboronprom prior to the reorganization).

Kamyshin also hopes that Western companies will follow the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, and Turkey’s Baykar, which are already opening factories in Ukraine. According to him, several American arms manufacturers have already expressed interest.

According to Kamyshin, in exchange for the risks of opening factories in a combat zone, companies get the opportunity to test and develop weapons on the frontier of modern warfare.