Ukrainian Armor Starts Production of Ammunition for Abrams and Leopard 2

Ukraine has launched mass production of 120-mm ammunition for modern Western tanks, including the Abrams and Leopard 2.

The Ukrainian Armor Company discussed this with Militarnyi.

The company shared that this was made possible by the transfer of technological documentation from the Czechoslovak Group (CSG). The documentation also enabled the launch of mass production of artillery ammunition.

In addition to the license and technology base, CSG supplies components, including powder charges, detonators, and other key elements.

“We are proud to be one of the first Western companies to successfully relocate large-caliber ammunition production to Ukraine,” David Chur, Deputy Chairman of CSG’s Board of Directors, announced.

CSG does not own any plants or production technology in Ukraine, as all of this is managed by its partner Ukrainian Armor.

“Our group does not determine the pricing policy or the choice of customers. We benefit from the project through license fees and the supply of critical components such as powder charges, detonators, and initiators,” CSG noted.

Ukrainian Armor produces the casings on site, fills, finalizes, and tests the shells.

In the first year of cooperation, it is planned to produce up to 100,000 155 mm and 50,000 105 mm shells; in the future, the capacity is planned to be doubled.

“Of course, there are opportunities for scaling up. We are currently sticking to our original plans to increase production to 300,000 per year,” the company shared with Militarnyi.

At the initial stage, the Ukrainian company will localize about half of its production; later, the share of localization should reach 80% of all ammunition. In parallel, it is planned to gradually transfer the production of detonator components to Ukraine.

At the beginning of 2025, we completed the construction of the plant and almost immediately launched the production of ammunition,” the company told Militarnyi.

At the same time, the company continues to produce Soviet-era 152 mm and 122 mm caliber ammunition.

Tank shells

The Czechoslovak Group (CSG) has developed several of its own 120-mm shells for Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks.

“We produce tank ammunition of various types and calibers,” CSG says.

The 120-mm NATO-standard tank shell is a unified caliber for smoothbore tank guns (e.g., Rheinmetall L/44/L/55 and their production variants) used on Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams vehicles.

The company stated that it is capable of producing 4,800 such tank shells per month.