Army issues contract for 155mm ammunition

Two companies will produce the next batch of artillery shells for the Army, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.

American Ordnance and General Dynamics Ordnance & Tactical Systems will manufacture 155mm M1128 projectiles for $974 million by an estimated completion date of Sept. 26, 2028.

The announcement does not list the exact number of projectiles to be produced and states work locations will be determined with each contract.

Intended to become the Army’s primary high-explosive round, the M1128 projectile has a 30km range, a high fragmentation body and is compatible with the Army’s future Extended Range Cannon Artillery System.

Last month, service acquisition chief Doug Bush announced an earlier multiyear contract for M1128 projectiles to IMT Defense Corp. in Westerville, OH, costing $162 million.

Bush added that increasing artillery production has various hurdles such as establishing new production lines, filling the shells with explosives and producing the charges that go behind the shells.

The U.S. has aided Ukraine with more than two million 155mm projectiles of various types, as the country counters an invasion from Russia, according to the Defense Department.

The Army intends to procure 16,950 rounds, according to fiscal year 2024 budget documents.