Poland Is Making More 155mm Artillery Shells—with British Help |
Pallets of 155mm artillery ammunition are unloaded from an aircraft. Two British and Polish firms recently won an award from the British Embassy in Warsaw for joint ammunition production. (Shutterstock/Mike Mareen)
Poland Is Making More 155mm Artillery Shells—with British Help
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A British–Polish joint munitions venture is expected to produce as many as 130,000 shells per year for the Polish Army.
The 155mm ordnance round, used in nearly all artillery systems around the world, is considered “critically important” for modern Western land combat. The artillery rounds are employed for heavy fire support, where they strike a balance between mobility, range, and firepower. The rounds fall into a proverbial “sweet spot” for NATO forces, as they are able to offer highly destructive capabilities—and can take out armored vehicles and wreck enemy fortifications—yet remain small enough for mobile, truck-mounted and towed howitzers.
The war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, has highlighted that a military can’t have enough of the ordnance. US stockpiles have been depleted after supplying vast quantities to Ukraine. Decades of post-Cold War budget cuts, manufacturing bottlenecks, a shortage of the materials to produce the shells, and a lack of facilities have resulted in shortfalls.
NATO nations are increasingly making efforts to bolster 155mm shell production. In early 2025, Germany-based Rheinmetall broke ground on a new plant in the Lithuanian city of........