22 March, 2024
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk said that compared to 2022, Ukraine had increased ammunition production many times over.
He said this during a live broadcast at the telethon.
“I don’t want to tell you about the numbers, I don’t have the right to do so, because this is limited information. But I can tell you with clear responsibility that the production of ammunition and mortar shells in Ukraine today has increased many times compared to 2022,” Havryliuk said.
According to the deputy minister, Ukraine now produces virtually the entire range of artillery ammunition, and Ukrainian-made 155mm ammunition is under development.
Illustrative photo: a Ukrainian artilleryman as part of the crew of a 2S22 Bohdana carries a shell. October 2023
According to Havryliuk, the growth and scaling of Ukrainian production is going well.
“I think that by the end of the year we will achieve the plans set by the President of our country,” Havryliuk emphasized.
At the end of February, Militarnyi reported that in 2023, Ukraine had increased the production of domestic mortar shells by 42 times.
This was announced at the Ukrainian 2024 forum. During the forum, it was noted that the production of 60-, 82-, and 120-mm mortar shells had been increased by 42 times in 2023 compared to last year.
Despite this growth, the amount produced domestically today is still not enough for the military.
As Militarnyi previously reported, the ‘Ukrainian Armor’ company revealed some details regarding the pace of production of mortar rounds and mortars.
120mm mortar rounds produced by the “Ukrainian Armor” enterprise. 2023. Photo from the page of the Ukrainian company
To increase the rate of production of defense products, the company is trying to maximize the involvement of everyone who is available in the labor market.
In 2023 it became known that “Ukrainian Armor” Design and Manufacturing Company resumed mass production of 60mm mortar rounds, as well as production of mortar rounds of 120mm caliber.
This is a positive development, naturally, but the production capacity will go up even more, both from domestic companies and also once the new factories from foreign partners start their production. Many more orcs will be sent to hell in the future.
That’s a smart move, but let’s not get carried away by enthusiasm – since no output numbers are given, the scale of this production is unknown. Consider there may have been only 10 prototype shells in 2022, so an increase of “42 times” would calculate to 430 shells in 2023. That’s nothing. Also, components for the production, like the explosives, still come from abroad, and that’s a bottleneck. So, good that Ukraine builds up its own industrial capacity, but at least in the medium term outlook, the supply for the AFU will very much depend on deliveries from Nato countries plus other sellers. 🤔
Of course, Ukraine needs ammo from abroad. But, this is still good news since in the long term, Ukraine must produce its own ammo, and enough of it. It already has both experience and the facilities for arms production, so increasing the manufacturing is a natural step to take. And, I think we can wait for a long time to see any numbers being announced, since this won’t happen for as long as this war rages on for obvious reasons.