M795 High Explosive Projectile 155 mm rounds ready to be fired during an exercise at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, May 2, 2025. A $635 million Army contract awarded to MSM Group North America calls for a complex at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Middletown to manufacture 155 mm artillery rounds. (Sar Paw/U.S. Army)
The U.S. Army has greenlit a new facility to support production of in-demand artillery shells, after stockpiles shrank following shipments to Ukraine and Israel.
MSM Group North America Inc. was awarded a $635 million contract on Aug. 15 to design and build the Future Artillery Complex at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, the Army said Wednesday.
The facility is slated for completion in August 2029. It will rely on robotics and technology to load, assemble and pack 155 mm munitions, an Army statement said.
The award is part of the service’s effort to modernize and expand production of the shells, which are used in platforms like the M777 Howitzer and the M109 Paladin.
In July, Army spokesman Steve Warren said the service is turning out 40,000 shells per month, according to a Defense Department statement cited by National Defense Magazine.
The Army had aimed to have 100,000 shells per month in production by October. The goal has since been pushed back to mid-2026, Warren told reporters in July.
The U.S. has sent more than 3 million 155 mm shells to support Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, the State Department said in a statement in March.
It has also delivered tens of thousands of shells to Israel since its 2023 conflict with Hamas began.
The Army supplies ammunition for all U.S. military services and numerous allies, the Wednesday statement said.
An Army statement in February called the 155 mm shell the “backbone of U.S. and allied field artillery.” It features a high-fragmentation steel body and about 24 pounds of explosive material.
In 2023, the service began awarding contracts and requesting funds to expand capacity to 100,000 shells per month, the February statement said. It also expanded facilities in Pennsylvania and completed a new factory in Texas last year.
The Army awarded a $435 million contract in November to build a TNT production facility in Kentucky, a statement said at the time.
MSM is based in St. Petersburg, Fla., and was the sole bidder, the award states.
M795 projectile cases at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Middletown. The Army awarded a $635 million contract to MSM Group North America to design, build and commission the Future Artillery Complex at the plant to manufacture 155 mm artillery rounds. (Dori Whipple/U.S. Army)
Pfc. Chad Averill carries a 155 mm artillery round ahead of a live-fire exercise at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, in 2021. The Army awarded a $635 million contract for an artillery complex at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant to manufacture 155 mm rounds. (Markus Rauchenberger/U.S. Army)
