Pennsylvania ammunition factory increases production of key artillery shells for Ukraine's fight against Russia

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania ammunition factory that makes critical artillery shells for Ukraine's fight against Russia said it was able to increase production by 50% to meet rising demand and plans to expand capacity further.

Government officials announced the increase in production this week as they showcased the ongoing $400 million modernization of the historic factory.

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant cuts and forges 2,000-pound steel rods into 155mm howitzer shells, which are then shipped to Iowa, where they are filled with explosives and fitted with fuses. From there, many of them go to fighting in Ukraine, where they are in high demand.

The Scranton plant and two other ammunition plants in nearby Wilkes-Barre recently increased production from 24,000 rounds per month to 36,000 rounds per month. Three new production lines are under construction that will allow the Scranton plant to produce even more of the critical ammunition, the plant's top official said.

“Right now we're focused on 155. That's pretty much all we're focused on,” Richard Hansen, the Army commander's representative at the plant, said Tuesday as he showed news agencies around the sprawling factory site near downtown Scranton. “We're working really hard to meet the goal set by the Pentagon.”

Since Russia invaded the country in 2022, the United States has supplied Ukraine with more than 3 million 155mm artillery shells, according to government data. Earlier this month, the White House announced another $125 million worth of weapons to support Ukraine in its military operations against Russia, including 155mm shells.

The Scranton plant was a locomotive repair shop in the early 20th century before being purchased by the Army and converted into a large-caliber artillery production facility for the Korean War. Since 2006, it has been operated by General Dynamics on behalf of the U.S. government, which owns the plant.

Officials are about halfway through one of the largest modernization projects in the plant's history, with about 20 projects currently in the works. Tuesday's tour also included a new production line with a sleek new machine that will do the work of three machines, helping to make the most of space in the 500,000-square-foot factory.

According to a General Dynamics spokesperson, the plant employs about 300 people, some of whom have been there for decades, operating the equipment that cuts the steel, heats it to 1,093 degrees Celsius, and forges, machines, washes and paints the finished shells. Each round is manually inspected at every step to ensure it meets specifications.

“We want it to go where we direct it,” Hansen said. “We want it to go as far as it needs to do its job. Lives depend on it – the lives of the gun crew, the lives of innocent civilians depend on that bullet doing exactly what we want it to do in action.”