Army awards first of four multiyear contracts for increasing artillery production

The Army awarded the first of four multiyear contracts this month that will support artillery production as the war in Ukraine continues, service acquisition chief Doug Bush said on Monday.

The $162 million contract was for M1128 projectiles and was awarded to IMT Defense Corp. in Westerville, OH, Bush said during a media briefing at the Pentagon Monday. The multiyear contract spans fiscal year 2023 through FY-27, he said.

The Pentagon has sought to increase the number of multiyear contracts as the United States continues to supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment during its war with Russia.

“That’s something we have had the authority to do for a while,” Bush said of the multiyear contracts.

“I think the conflict raised the importance of doing it to strengthen the industrial base. And, of course, the other multiyear under discussion requires congressional approval. These four we’re doing are under the threshold, and we’re able to execute them this year based on language we received for fiscal year 23.”

Bush said that there are various hurdles that have to be overcome when it comes to increasing artillery production, such as establishing new production lines, filling the shells with explosives and producing the charges that go behind the shells. The Army’s current rate of production is 24,000 rounds per month, and Bush said that will soon increase to 28,000 per month. By FY-25, the service aims to get to between 80,000 and 85,000 rounds per month, he said.

“If you do the math on the 80,000 to 85,000 a month, I mean that’s a million a year. So, between supporting Ukraine, replenishing ourselves and supporting other allies, we expect to use that capacity. That’s the overall reason we’re doing it,” he said.