The Biden administration is opening an ammunition factory in Mesquite, Texas, that will produce 30,000 artillery shells per month, significantly boosting the ammunition production capacity of the United States and expediting the supply of needed ammunition to Ukraine and other regions.
According to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, the facility will be operated by the defense contractor General Dynamics and will primarily produce components for 155mm artillery shells.
Kirby told reporters on May 29th that the new facility “will significantly enhance our nation’s ability to produce artillery shell components.”
He also mentioned that the factory, which began construction last year, received funding from the $95 billion security supplemental bill passed by the U.S. Congress last month, “to establish new production lines as part of a national effort to dramatically increase our monthly artillery production.”
“These 155mm artillery shells, along with the accompanying howitzers, will certainly play a significant role in repelling Russian attacks in Ukraine,” Kirby said.
Since 2022, the Biden administration has used the Presidential Drawdown Authority to transfer millions of 155mm artillery shells from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine. The continuous supply of ammunition to Ukraine, where thousands of shells are sometimes consumed in a single day on the frontlines, has raised concerns within the U.S. military leadership about a potential ammunition shortage domestically.
Last year, U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth stated that the demand for such ammunition had pushed production to the “absolute limits of the defense industrial capacity.”
Wormuth mentioned that the Army was investing $1.5 billion to construct new ammunition factories and warehouses, in collaboration with industry partners, to replenish national stockpiles while supporting Ukraine.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley also acknowledged the significant gap in replenishing depleted stockpiles.
Kirby expressed optimism about the role of the new facility in correcting this trend. He noted that since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Biden administration has doubled the production of the ammunition, with production expected to increase by over five times by the end of 2025.
“In 2022, when Russia began invading Ukraine, the U.S. was producing around 14,000 155mm artillery shells per month,” Kirby said. “Our current production has more than doubled, and we are expected to double it again by next year, with hopes of producing 100,000 shells per month by the end of next year.”
The new facility in Mesquite plans to produce approximately 30,000 artillery shells casings per month. The production line will incorporate new automated specialized robots, part of the military’s modernization efforts for traditional ammunition factories.
This modernization process is part of a broader multi-year procurement program, often portrayed by the Biden administration as an employment plan beneficial to economic development. However, there have been criticisms accusing the Biden administration of profiteering from the ammunition shortage it caused by inciting conflicts.
Kirby stated that the Mesquite facility will employ hundreds of American workers, promoting the growth of the defense industry base.
“This is very good news today, showing our commitment to supporting Ukraine and also supporting our domestic defense industry base,” Kirby said. “Of course, it also contributes to employment in places like Mesquite, Texas.”
The original article was published in the English edition of “The Epoch Times”.