U.S. army ramps up artillery production with new Arkansas plant
The U.S. Army, along with General Dynamics, has opened a new factory in Camden, Arkansas, significantly increasing the production of 155 mm artillery ammunition.
According to the Defense News portal, the launch of the plant in Camden, Arkansas, is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the American industrial base for artillery ammunition production. The new facility will be responsible for filling cast shell casings with TNT, final processing, and packaging them in a palletized system.
Opened on April 21, 2025, the facility has two production lines capable of producing around 50,000 shells monthly, representing a massive production volume.
Here's what will be produced in Camden — shells on a mass scale
The most significant volume will most likely consist of simple M107 shells or their successors, M795, made of a cast steel body, filled with either 7 kg or 11 kg of TNT or, for example, its mixture with hexogen known as Composition B. Then, the simplest impact fuses, which cause an explosion upon hitting the target, or more advanced ones enabling shell detonation at a height of, for example, 10 metres, are added. Their representatives are, for instance, French Ralec.
The maximum range of the mentioned M107 and M795 shells in the case of howitzers with a barrel length of 39 calibres, like the M777, is 22.5 km, and for European systems with a gun length of 52 calibres, such as the Caesar, PzH 2000, or AHS Krab, it reaches up to 30 km.
Also popular will be the slightly more expensive M795E1 shells equipped with a base burner at the bottom. This burner generates gases that reduce the shell's base drag, resulting in a 30 percent range increase. Long-barreled artillery systems allow engaging targets at a distance of 40 km.
Shells for special tasks
The U.S. Army also needs more specialized shells, whose volume will be lower due to cost. This category includes shells like the M549A1, equipped with a rocket booster, which provides additional propulsion after the shell leaves the barrel.
This enables engaging targets at a range of around 50-60 km for systems like the AHS Krab, but due to the need to fit a rocket engine along with fuel into the shell, the TNT weight has dropped to 7 kg.
The last category is the guided M982 Excalibur shells with GPS guidance, allowing for hitting valuable targets with an accuracy of a few metres at a distance of over 50 km. However, they are not an ideal solution. They are expensive, as they can cost up to $100,000 each, and GPS jamming by the Russians rendered them useless until the implementation of jamming-resistant receivers.
