US Army says Congress doubled funds for 155mm artillery

PHOTO CAPTION: 155mm artillery rounds to be used for a fire support coordination exercise are displayed during Adversary Force Exercise (AFX) on Marine Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Feb. 29, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Frank Sepulveda Torres via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army said Congress doubled to $6 billion its funding request for buying and building 155 millimeter artillery rounds to replace stocks depleted by shipments to Ukraine and now Israel, an Army official said on Thursday.

Demand for 155 mm artillery rounds has soared since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Allies' supplies for their own defense have been run down as they have rushed shells to Kyiv, which fires thousands of rounds per day.

"By my math, the supplemental, we asked for about $3.1 billion related to 155 production and production increases. We appear to have gotten $6 billion. So that, I think, is a vote of confidence as we make our way to 100,000 shells a month." Doug Bush, the chief weapons buyer for the Army, said Tuesday

The U.S. Army included $3.1 billion to buy the artillery rounds and expand production in the recently signed $95 billion supplemental bill.

The U.S. plans to increase its monthly production rate for 155 millimeter artillery shells to 100,000 in the summer of 2025 Bush told reporters Thursday.

General Dynamics benefits from Pentagon spending to replace equipment sent to Ukraine, including 155 millimeter artillery.



(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)