I worked at a 200 year old iron foundry in the UK. It was bought out by Geogre Fishers from Germany. It was one of the UK`s biggest automated iron foundries. We was casting 16 mortar shells every 30 seconds 24/7 during the Iraq war. 46,000 a day. A 70 tonne furnace. The Germans wanted it moving to Germany but it never got working so they scrapped it.
@@johnslugger we also invented Caterpillar tracks in Lincoln UK which the America`s brought off us. I work in a steel forge in the UK that make`s CAT crankshafts.
Ya, very smart thinking! And the reason for bank robberies is gun makers and ammo factories supplying the Police. So actually the industry is responsible for bank robberies, right? The crooks are not to blame, also not Wladimir Putin! Amazing. You should get a Nobel Prize for this finding. And a Doctor title from the University of Idiocracy.
I’m a retired US Army Infantryman and I want to add a little info to help explain why it’s not so easy to make the steel shell casings. The metal is a very unique alloy as well as a special heat treating process that makes the steel come apart in small fragments that range from 1/2”-3 1/2” in size and they have jagged, sharp edges that rip into anything they hit when detonated. If they used just any available steel to form the steel shell casing then it’ll just rip open a seam along the length of the shell and produce a fraction of the properly made shell casing.
With France putting the begging bowl out to Australia to provide it with the explosives to make 155mm shells it’s obvious that European military industrial capacity is chronically deficient.
Yes, Australia has only just started manufacturing 155 shells itself, but I would not have thought we would make enough explosives to make much of a difference in the Ukraine war. I suppose it all helps increase the French manufacturing capacity. It should gets things really humming in the new Australian facilities though.
@@robman2095w Polsce produkujemy pociski do 120 i 155. Wysyłamy masę prochu do USA by wypełniali swoje pociski. Nasze fabryki są rozbudowywane. Do 2026 mamy robić z 37 do 100 tysięcy karabinów rocznie, z 24 do 120 dział krab ( w tej chwili okolo 60 rocznie) a potroić się produkcją pocisków Grom . Otwieramy fabrykę czołgów, bwp borsuk( ma być od 120 do 200 rocznie) fabrykę koreańskich himars, fabrykę okrętów/ fregaty.. kupujemy od sąsiadów i innychdużo broni. Do 2026 będzie dodatkowo 540 czołgów, okolo 300 himars okolo 550 nowych krab i K9 tworzymy nowy system obrony powietrznej( to jest najdroższe ,ponad 20 baterii p.lotniczych i nowe sieci radarów.. wszystko to dopięte w sieć wojskowa ,,topaz. " Ukraina używa kawałek naszej sieci. Część artyleryjska. Czyli drony i komputery i działa 155 mm lub warmate lub himars. W sieć wplatają Ukraińcy działa zachodniej produkcji. Można wpiąć w topaz.
Learn from the past they said Don’t repeat the same mistakes they said More wars anyone , propping up the corporate military complex Bombs aren’t profitable sitting in warehouses collecting dust 🕊☮🕊
Both South Korea and North Korea have large artillery shells production capacity and massive stockpile of shells. South Korea sent 300k NATO shells to USA and North Korea, 1 million shells to Russia (equivalent 152 mm shells) Now South Korea become artillery shell supplier of NATO.
South Korea NEVER sent any shells to North Korea. You meant NATO I think. South Korea has 3rd largest artillery and stockpiled 155 and 105mm for decades. It has been prepped for artillery duel like what's going on in Ukraine.
@@Joseph-eh4rs Looks like a punctuation error. Here, I fixed it: "South Korea sent 300k NATO shells to USA, and North Korea 1 million shells to Russia".
ideally the fuel/propellant could be an additional explosive. but yes even so without being able to increase the dimensions you cant give it the same explosives payload unless you change the explosive material.
No, the biggest problem with RAP rounds (as we call it) is that it tears the gun tube up. Destroys the howitzer barrel faster. Any Paladin or Triple 7 gunbunny can tell you that loading M549 up the spout makes battery gun chiefs squirm in discomfort. Not sure about XM1113
The major difference between USA/EU and Russia is the planning and the property structure. The US/EU planning was based on maintaining the numbers that are spent in training and for USA - maintaining two small wars vs. ragtag goatherders with rusty AKs. Then all these order go to PRIVATE contractors. And as we are well aware, businesses do not have the habit to keep assets that are not bringing profit as it affects the stocks prices, the dividends and as well - the CEO bonuses. Moreover - if anything can be outsourced - it is getting outsourced as this increases the profit margins and lowers the maintenance expenses. E.g. the US manufactured 155mm shells are filled with HE that is produced in Poland. Only 20% of the steel, used for casings is domestically produced. So, ramping up the production means that USA needs not only new shell plants, but additional HE production, additional deliveries or production of steel and so on. On the other hand, the entire heavy armament production cycle in Russia is predominantly state owned and 100% state controlled. And they kept their old plants frozen because they have learned from history how important the industrial base and the self-sufficiency are if things go south. Moreover, they have the resources and the energy to restart them in very short terms and most importantly - not being dependent on sub-contractors.
The Russians remember their history but we try to forget it. Or maybe they're just smarter than we are. It's possible but we're arrogant and will never admit it.
@@neilreynolds3858 I'll go with the latter. Arrogant and too proud to admit they f*cked up by shipping their manufacturing abroad for that cheap labor.
You have huge flaws in your argument. First - No one knows what additional production capacity Russia has been able to bring online. Since they inherited massive stockpiles from the Soviet Union, are currently importing ammunition from North Korea, and have dropped their rate of consumption by over half since the previous year it's doubtful it's anywhere significant enough to prove your point. Second - Russia is a raw material exporter and a finished goods importer. T14 Armata zombie program. Su-57 Felon zombie program as examples of sanctions castrating next generation Russian weapons programs. Even replacing tubes on artillery platforms, the two plants that produce 152mm tubes rely on a limited number of Italian machining tools; they can't get any more from Italy... will they be able order equivalent tools from China probably, but they don't produce them themselves. Russia is hardly self reliant and if we continue to see Russian artillery consumption drop, we'll know claims such as yours are not reliable. Even your claim about HE production, the US may have secured additional sources of HE (in the form of TNT) from Poland, but it's primary supply of of HE (in the form of IMX) is sourced from BAE Systems and is produced at Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. I also don't know what your point about steel is since it's one of the cheapest raw materials in the world market. Not trying to be rude, but I'd be surprised if you can source any of your claims.
Industrially one nation has the advantage along with worldwide access to the natural resources. In my opinion, Ukrain is exposing a lot about NATO vulnerabilities and sourcing of needed resources.
The good news is that NATO is actually learning from this. The US is vastly growing their shell production (the US will produce about 10 times more shells in 2028 than it did in 2018) and changing their battle tactics. Germany is rearming their air force and investing heavily into their infantry and factories. Poland and other Eastern European nations are buying HIMARS and other systems for protection. Europe is weaning off of Russian oil and gas, and the US is starting to produce uranium domestically again. Still a long way to go, but countries are reacting.
@@Crashed131963 not just Ukraine Entire western or even world (include me) *WERE* believe Russia would rush this war and win within 3 day or matter of week
Yes a very useful wakeup call to European countries, many of whom have not pulled their weight in Nato or self defence generally, preferring to rely unfairly on the US. They should come out of this better prepared to defend themselves.
I find it disingenuous to not list EU numbers as well. Because while the analyst talks about "difficulties" EU+GB has still increased its production from 230,000 shells per year to over 600,000 shells per year in November (ie, at least 50,000 shells during November 2023), and will hit 1 million shells per year this autumn. The difficulties was that they were hoping to hit 1 million shells before April, but that's not going to happen. EDA (EUs department for Defence collaboration) has also worked out agreements over the last year for some absolutely massive orders of 155mm. So "failure to order" isn't exactly true either.
Glad you took the time to bring in some details regarding EU production. I think the main point behind "failure to order" is not what you’re ready to buy today or next year... but what you’re willing to buy every year for the next 15 years. Defense industry loves orders... but short term orders rarely justify a huge change in production volume. Anyway, not a rebuttal to your post; as an American I'm deeply thankful that Europe has stepped up as the U.S. waivers.
@@HarryF-tz5fo Russia is also spending 9 million shells per year (25000 rounds per day on average. Down from over 60000 shells per day). That means that 75% of their expenditure comes from their stockpiles. Unlike Ukraine they're probably never getting out of that deficit unless the war ends.
@@HarryF-tz5fo This seems to contradict the claims that Russia has been using significant quantities of cold war stockpiles accumulated over decades and importing North Korean artillery shells.
I wonder how long it would take to reach its target. Also Iv always wanted to see a Go Pro in the tip of a shell and watch the footage of it flying through the air.
@@joemamaobama6863 cheap ones are usually sub 1mil, hellfire/ATGM types, cruise missiles costing around 700k-1.5 mil is normal, esp a low observable one
corruption. Only those completely divorced from reality will say that it does not exist in Europe and the United States. for example, the cost of the same projectile in Russia is about $800
Originally they were $2100 according to the video. Think about the skilled labor required - engineers needed to design the shells and tooling, machinists to fabricate the metal components, electronics assembly techs to build the fuzes, explosives techs who know how to safely manufacture and handle the explosives. THEN there's the cost of facilities and the utilities needed to run those facilities, and the insurance for explosives handling facilities, and the maintenance of the facilities and tools. On top of that, government contracts often have special requirements that can drive up costs in other unexpected ways that I'm not even going to try to get into. With all those factors, $2100 per shell is a miracle. Then, when demand goes up (as it does when war breaks out), supply goes down, so the price naturally increases to lower demand to what can be supplied. Source - worked in government contracting
The same thing happened with masks and other medical supplies during COVID. Everyone wants them yesterday, and you get a cascade effect where there is a shortage of all your inputs overnight. It's not just the companies manufacturing the shells, but the metal, explosive, paint, etc.
The Tools and Mashines (not many Companies build them), propellend base chemical mix and powder, licenses, skilled worker, demand The floor shells are also milled that cost time. And dependinh on your shell typ it also gets some tech
Israel is extremely wealthy. Their military outnumbers Gaza’s military 10 to 1. Why does Israel need the United States to supply them with military support?
Ukraine is fighting Russia. A country with over 4x their population and with massive weapons stockpiles. Ukraine obviously needs help. Israel obviously doesn’t, so why is anyone worried about Israel?
Right and are they getting into protracted artillery battles with the Palestinians? Can’t see how they would be in dire need given all the advantages they already have on the battlefield.
South Korea produces 10,000 155mm shells at a low rate per month, and the South Korean Army's one-year training consumption is more than 100,000. If the maximum production is more than 42,000 shots a month, and 500,000 shots a year. Over the past year, the price of a 155mm shell has tripled from $300 to $900 per shot. For the past 20 years, when Western Europe has been on guard by excessive disarmament, South Korea has always been at the forefront of the free camp, and now South Korea has become an arsenal of the free camp. The South Korean Army suddenly became the second strongest army in the free camp.
South Korea was a military dictatorship up until the 90's and still in camp with the western imperialist alliance. Freedom has nothing to do with S. Korea's relationship to the west
@@unai_asecas9070 "... between Russia and _Germany_ ..." FIFY It has been a fear that Germany & Russia would align forces since 1920. The manufacturing might of GE and the raw materials of RU.
@@unai_asecas9070put everyone in debt so they can't legally fight back while skimming off incredibly inflated aid packages with extremely suspect producers and cost. even if they steal 0.5% every package they are some of the richest people in their respective country.
0:10 so Ukraine needs real powerful and large 155mm shells to fight a superpower. Russia. 0:21 But? Israel needs 155mm shells because they are running out of that when they are shelling civilian targets?
For real, why is even continuing to supply Israel in the question. If I wanted the US to spend money around Israel, it'd be on a complete trade blockade until they cease all military operations.
For real, why is even continuing to supply Israel in the question. If I wanted the US to spend money around Israel, it'd be on a complete trade blockade until they cease all military operations.
Ramp production faster. Doing it at the current pace just means it will come online when it’s no longer needed. Then the expensive factories will be in place but soon be idle and the new jobs will disappear there or at some other US plant.
I'm afraid the USA and EU vastly under estimated the need for artillery shells. Ramping up from minimal produced to wartime production has been much to slow. Think there should of been / should be government incentives / cash to ramp up production.
and it's exactly what the Soviets predicted back in the late 1980s. As anti aircraft missile technology increased, and by the late 1980s S-300 and Patriot missile systems could already engage 50-100+ miles away. The Soviets realized that all you would need to do is saturate air defenses at the front line and even SEAD would fail. Air power would not be as relevant as people thought, but cruise missiles and artillery would be key. Now we see the war in Ukraine and surprise surprise the Russians didn't rush in airpower (to all the confused NATO headlines of "where is Russia's air force?") and Russia had stockpiles of artillery shells in the millions, and production capacities per annum greater than all of NATO combined...
The USA/EU hasn't underestimate the need, they just didn't care enough. Both the US and EU is still very much in peacetime economies, nothing has really changed in that regard. A bit more spending on military, but that's basically it. Meanwhile Russia is quickly bankrupting itself by extreme state budget allocated to the military. Russia can keep it up at the current rate probably for a year and then there's no more, but the current rate is insanely high so if they change the rate of consumption which I would expect and start rationing their stockpiles instead and add to that additional supplies or ammunition from Iran or North Korea, Russia may last for several years. Putins hope is that the west caves in and stop supporting Ukraine, that's his only hope.
@@CrazyGaming-ig6qqi fully agree that the west is in peacetime mode, but I've heard that Russia is a year away from breaking economically for, well, for a year now.
The ammo plant at NASA in south MS was closed back in the late 80s early 90s. It produced the 155 mm round. It was closed because the miltary said they didnt need anymore as they said they had more stored than could ever be used in ANY WAR....who is lying?
So was the Shell plants in Eastern Ohio, Pittsburgh and Johnstown. Technically none had produced shells since Vietnam, but till the early 1990s were maintained to quickly produce the shells needed. Other shell plants were closed in the 1990s, for it was assumed we will no longer need the shells those plants could produced..
It definitely wont be anything about the border. Unless it is documenting some random family that drowned doing something stupid like crossing a river rather than going through one of the 25 checkpoints.
Israel is far more important than Ukraine so they will get everything they want including 155 mm shells Ukraine will have to use the little amount given to them
@@MrTechVO Quite right. The "anotherdrifter" poster didn't listen very well. This video made clear that Israel wasn't using that many of these shells and explained why.
In WWII until Vietnam, the 105mm was the most desired or desirable artillery shell type, light, easy to manufacture and have enough range to conduct fire missions, from the start of the 21st century countries have been slowly adapting 155mm and its howitzer or guns, it's bigger , more powerful but it's hard to manufacture in large numbers, 155mm has been the most standard western artillery shell from 21st century onwards.
We still use 105mm easily for us to transport and fight in mountains and jungles apparently we won’t be fighting in flat plains or steppes. We are also too poor to afford 155mm we could only fire like 6 shells a year with our budget.
No, your thinking of north Korea supplying artillery shells to the Russian military!! I think Canada and Australia are also helping Ukraine with 155mm shells as well...😮
@@kjseo84 no, Australia makes the outside metal casings, then sends them to France to have the primer and explosive propellant added then it is sent to Ukraine!! Australia is going to upgrade its manufacturing capacity of 155mm artillery rounds so it can make them completely!!
@@MrDredd1966Dude South Korea provide 64% of whole 155mm shell to US and we send that shell to Ukraine so Australia can't provide 2.000.000 artillery shells for 2 years it's South Korea
Israel is fighting random terrorists, they already have f-35s and all the latest tech. Ukraine is fighting the worlds modern nazis, all our help should be directed towards UKRAINE!
Israel is far more important than Ukraine It is not about the enemy it's about the side you care about If your mom was injured lightly and a stranger was in critical condition would you care more about your mom or the stranger The level of injury doesn't matter The side you care about the most does matter
I would argue that the M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) is just as important as the artillery shell. One PGK will reduce the number of shells needed to take out a target by ten fold, reducing the cost and overall logistics needed to effectively hit a target.
PGKs/Excaliburs don't really reduce the cost (well, maybe now with the price hike for a 155mm the PGK does. The Excalibur doesn't since the shell costs 100k USD). The main benefit is reduced collateral damage, the ability to use the shell in Danger Close (close to friendly troops), reduced logistics pressure and faster fire missions (reducing the vulnerability of artillery crews).
@@neilreynolds3858 Something is going right if a superpower invades a country right on its border and can't get the job done in 2 years . Could you seen the USA invading Canada or Mexico and taking 2 years to topple their governments ?
NATO standard munitions, like the 155, are never in short supply...witness that nearly every NATO signatory country has their own domestic production capability for shells. If anything, the biggest issue with so many shells being made by so many hands is quality control...don't want out of calibration 'Schindler Shells', do we?
Their domestic production was geared to produce a maximum of 10k shells per month for the whole of the EU . This was massively below what has been sent to Ukraine
More than 200k shells a moth at $8k apiece...and then go on with such rate for 3 years? And then these countries claim to not be able to support the poor have homes or afford food.
I was a radar repairman, back in the day, for the US ARMY. Seeing all this newer stuff, I am always amazed by the engineering af it all.Thousand of rounds fired from one gun and almost very few failures, I assume. All these rounds being handled all the time and you never hear of one accidently going off. I would like to see the EU step up a bit and get some wartime stuff ramped up. This is their backyard afterall.
Easily because Israel doesn't really need our weapons they have their own domestic production. Ukraine is fighting a large scale war wearas Israel is fighting an assemetric war those kinda fights require different weapons.
Korea is the country with the world's largest possession of 155mm artillery shells. It is a country that has been preparing for war for 60 years and is crazy about artillery power. The number of 155mm shells is unofficially held at over 6 million+. We secretly delivered 500,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine to the United States, which is more than the support provided by all European countries. Korea's 155mm artillery shell production surpasses that of Western countries. In addition, the production cost is very low due to mass production and ownership. North Korea has already provided large quantities of artillery shells and missiles to Russia, tilting the war towards Russia. If Korea provides weapons to Ukraine in earnest, the outcome of the war will change again.
WSJ you’re conflating / padding this story line. Basic 155mm artillery shells can be provided to both countries. Not sure how many shells Israeli forces need given size of Gaza PS - Guessing South Korea is the only country with excess production capacity and maybe India now that it has adopted 155mm artillery within its weapons inventory.
Ukraine is fighting Russia. A country with over 4x their population and with massive weapons stockpiles. Ukraine obviously needs help. Israel obviously doesn’t, so why is anyone worried about Israel?
amazing that NATO nations all use 155mm but have precious little manufacturing capability, all of NATO had total stockpiles of just a few million rounds and they could not manufacture a million in a year. Ridiculously complacent and for them to be unable to supply Ukraine 2 years into the war is absolutely disgraceful. Sending precious rounds to Israel is wrong, they’re breaking international law in their war on Gaza
High intensity combat supply consumption per day (from memory): WW1 division 10-30 tons Early WW2 German divisions 50-150 tons (by type) Late WW2 Allied divisions 200-600 tons 1991 NATO armoured divisions 1000-1500 tons (by terrain and climate) Of which ~90% is usually artillery ammo (Commonest calibre: WW1 75mm; WW2 105mm, modern 155mm)
Yes. IADs made from artillery shells and even dud 500-lb. bombs killed a lot of US and ARVN soldiers, plus the inevitable civilian deaths, during the Vietnam War.
FYI, 155mm shells were first used in 1916 by the French. They calculated that 155mm was the ideal diameter for a common soldier to carry, on a daily basis, for days on.
The US and NATO countries need to shop around and get better pricing. I get “supply and demand” but high demand should also be creating competition between manufacturers. The US has an annual military budget of (I believe) ~$8.4 Billion. You’d think we’d have so much ammunition that it’d be falling out out of our pockets as we walk around. What kind of bulk rate bargains are we getting for our money? Sounds like not very good ones!
The US military budget is TEN times larger than your guess of $8.4 Billion = its actually closer to $877 billion annually! There is no way that they will EVER run out of amunition!
Wait, so the EU has been talking about artillery shells for over a year now but has just now in 2024 placed an order large enough to make private industry move the needle. Why didn't the EU or NATO think to place an order as soon as the war started? I mean, why in the world did it take so long to agree that artillery was need asap.
You forget that the war was supposed to be over in a month. Remember, Russia was going to collapse because everybody there hated Putin and they were going to rise up and throw him out. All of our "Russia experts" said so. They still do. They obviously know nothing about Russians so how did they get to be our experts?
@@rickjames18 Perhaps they easily expected to defeat Russia, without using additional funds and weapons. I saw interviews with some Ukrainian soldiers who were sure that as soon as the Russians saw the Ukrainian army and Western weapons, the Russians would flee in panic...
@@Tonik-13 Yeah, possibly but to be fair many of the early Russian pushes ended in routes. The major one was the Kherson area pushback. So, the Russians did leave in panic with tons of equipment left behind but most of those trained soldiers are now dead. What we see on the trenchline now are mostly conscripts not professionals. I would be really interested in knowing how many actual professionals are still alive from the initial invasion.
6:19 Wouldn't manufacturing 155mm shells within Ukraine just make the factories a target for the Russians? I doubt they could keep the location of the factories a secret for long.
They are being targeted and destroyed. Russia is indeed overcoming Ukraine's air defense. That's why Ukraine is asking for helf for artillery/rockets/AD etc. from the west.
Israel is a very wealthy country, we should not have to give them anything including money. Why is my taxpayer $ going to a country that does not need it? Let them buy what they want from us. Also they should not be using 155mm shells in gaza, its full of civilians. This is not the right way to go after Hamas, I disagree with this approach!
If you have a steel works plant in your backyard that manufactures NATO standard 155mm shells, then you're going to be a rich man and have a license to earn money, probably even tax fre.
3:38 Then one might wonder who is forced to pay to donate this type of ammunition to corrupt Ukraine? Ukraine does not pay for this ammunition, it is the tax payers from the country all the "aid" comes from, these tax payers have nothing to do with the war but are still forced to pay because some corrupt politicians want to make money from this, There is no tax payer who benefits this war, it is only those companies that manufacture war materiel that get money and it is tax money they get from the state to manufacture war materiel for ukraine and for israel. It is the corrupt "Elite" who profit from the war. If you as a citizen want to profit from war, you buy shares in the companies that manufacture these materials
A couple of factors contributing: a) Ukraine early on was using old Soviet/Russian artillery doctrine, where accuracy was compromised for area saturation. While that's is one aspect of artillery usage, it's not the only factor hence the high consumption-rate. Currently Ukraine forces are much better trained, the use of forward observers to call in artillery is more wide-spread hence their accuracy has greatly increased as has their lethality. b) Western powers supplying Ukraine hadn't been in any prolonged conflicts where artillery usage was a major factor. While previous conflicts have utlitzed artillery for battlefield prep or, surgical strikes, the prolonged war with daily fire missions has been a wake-up call for governments reviewing their budgets and stockpiles...TLDR- governments need to take to their militaries about what is really needed
Ukrainians didnt mimic NATO doctrine with forward observers, rather they start small revolution in artillery since 2014, creating direct link between drones and firing units+by introducing several apps/user-friendly software for artillerists and for all who use indirect fire.
What nonsense is this? Yesterday CNN showed AFU M109 team firing 155mm SMOKE SHELLS as that's all they have. The guy interviewed said "old Soviet stuff is better because its easier to get and always works".
Western weapons are luxury props. They are high maintenance, which can only be enjoyed by solid logistic tails. Western weapons are not designed to fight long wars against near-peers. The only reason the AFU lasted so long is because of their Soviet stockpiles.
"Currently Ukraine forces are much better trained, the use of forward observers to call in artillery is more wide-spread hence their accuracy has greatly increased as has their lethality" ah yes THAT EXPLAINS HOW THE GREAT COUNTER OFFENSIVE has gone nowhere for 6 months.
Would love to see some stats on shell consumption at the most active areas of the Ukraine front, compared to battles like Verdun, or the Somme, or some of the other major offensive actions during WW1.
What a predicament!! Who should take precedence??? Who should the US supply, a country defending itself from an invasion, or a country committing genocide and other assorted warcrimes? What to do, what to do....
Interesting bit about the price per unit for artillery shells. But you are not taking into account the purchasing power parity between Western and Russian producers.
Thats actually quite scary the US is supposed to be able to fight in 2 fronts with no problem they should have millions of does shells stored or in general have ammo ready to give it to their allies in case of war i know the US is not known for their artillery power unlike its airpower but still.
the US doesn't use artillery because we mostly use drones, smart bombs and aircraft when we attack things... we have little to no use for artillery and ground combat is slowly being phased out. most of what we make is for NATO so we only had a limited stockpile to start with and Ukraine has misused most of what we gave them which is why they're currently losing. Germany's defense department said back in like August or September that they could easily start production on those artillery shells but the gov't had to give them the go ahead... clearly Germany is struggling with budgets as can be seen with the farmers strike. Germany also has a law that does NOT allow them to go into a deficit so they can't just spend into oblivion like the US does with it's military... the US has more rockets and bombs that have far higher precision and actually DO something when you fire it at a target that's either moving or stationary... artillery can't hit moving targets! it is for fortifications and entrenchments! if you're still scared after all this then you should do some actual research and understand how war works. i was told all throughout this conflict that "Russian's are smart enough" and i laughed because Russia has been fighting wars for longer than some of those peasant colonies have existed, Russia was at one point in time the second most powerful military on the planet... if you count the nuclear arsenal they still are! at the peak of WW2 Russia had 70,000 tanks, the US only had 50,000... but the US also produced more ships, planes, vehicles and ammo than the rest of the world combined in the 4 short years that we were in the war... US not producing a worthless artillery shell is the least of concerns lol... maybe if Hunter Biden wasn't doing what he was doing back in 2014 when interestingly enough ALL of this conflict started happening... we wouldn't have a war on our hands...
@@ToeCutter454your wrong about something, the US reduced production because the conflicts that we have been in over the last few decades didn’t require a large war of attrition like the conflict in Ukraine. Planning for military production is done years in advance
@@ToeCutter454 Artillery is one of the most important things in the military even in modern day conflicts i doubt the US can achieve air superiority as easy against Russia and China i hope im wrong but i cant see that happening like they did in iraq.
You basically answered it in the end. The US just doesn't fight much with artillery and neither do their Nato allies. Ukraine inherited the russian army doctrine with tons of artillery use. Nato wasn't really willing to equip Ukraine with air power and wanted to let them fight thier way.
I love how the price per shell has gone fourfold even though the need has gone up 10 fold. Do I sense a bit of price gouging here? Good 'ole American Companies.
I’m sure there is corruption since it’s military procurement. But still, basic supply and demand would predict prices going up substantially when demand goes up.
Apparently you don't understand how capitalism works: that's not "price gouging", that's "market opportunity". It has always always worked that way, and it will always work that way.
It would be nice to see the breakdown of costs. A huge demand spike could for sure strain the costs of materials like steel, primers, lead, etc. and cause prices to go up. But I doubt that it accounts for most of the spike in costs. Someone is pocketing a ton of money I am sure.
@@thekinginyellow1744 I understand Capitalism just fine. When you buy a few of something the initial price is always high due to the cost of materials etc. When you buy millions of something, like an artillery round, it is expected to go down in price due to mass orders of materials. Going up 300 percent is a bit much unless the first order came in 1990. That is how Capitalism is supposed to work. Price-gouging is upping the price exponentially when the orders fly in.
The actual numbers of US stock are classified but it's somewhere in the 10's of millions of shells. The production rates are intentionally slow to keep the factories functional during peace. In a war the US was directly involved in the ramp rate would be quicker. The stock is low in the sense that it wouldn't be possible to meet multiple contingencies, not that there isn't enough left for a small war.
@@dernadaarmando2948 It has been decided that 155mm is now the standard size. 105mm is used for light artillery. Russia uses 152mm and and 122mm as standard sizes. Cost of ammunition has gone up with demand. I gather that an unguided (dumb) 155mm round is now $8,000 each (up from $2,000, used to be $750). I can see a price for a 105mm round, $750. I don't know how current that is. Prices should drop once more shell production comes on-line.
A General said in 2021 "If - no - when the Russian attack we will run low in 155m shells very fast. We need to increase production massively." All NATO Generals agreed on this simple fact. What did happen for two years? Nothing. Politicians acting like scared birds.
Perun: If you're making 155mm rounds you basically have a licences to print money
Actually, money is backed by 155 shell. Without that, money is just a piece of paper.
Ying-Yang guys!
You also need a license to sell itv😂
why is it that expensive though?
And only one plant
I worked at a 200 year old iron foundry in the UK. It was bought out by Geogre Fishers from Germany. It was one of the UK`s biggest automated iron foundries. We was casting 16 mortar shells every 30 seconds 24/7 during the Iraq war. 46,000 a day. A 70 tonne furnace. The Germans wanted it moving to Germany but it never got working so they scrapped it.
*Inferior UK engineering.*
@@johnslugger We invented the tank where I live. So you Russian`s copied it for some reason. Why don`t you get your own idea`s?
@@johnslugger we also invented Caterpillar tracks in Lincoln UK which the America`s brought off us. I work in a steel forge in the UK that make`s CAT crankshafts.
@@johnslugger Also my mate from Lincoln UK wrote the Grand Theft Auto game which you played so you might want to think again.
Uk engineering is not inferior. Unfortunately uk manufacturing is now on a major decline
Wait so a shell went from around $2,000 a piece to over $8,000??? Someone is getting rich.
Isn't the purpose of most wars?
Aaah ! War.
Read Gen. Smedley Butler's book "War is a Racket" It's about WW1 but applies from there onward...
Ya, very smart thinking! And the reason for bank robberies is gun makers and ammo factories supplying the Police. So actually the industry is responsible for bank robberies, right? The crooks are not to blame, also not Wladimir Putin! Amazing. You should get a Nobel Prize for this finding. And a Doctor title from the University of Idiocracy.
That's what happens when the demand is much greater than what is available.
I’m a retired US Army Infantryman and I want to add a little info to help explain why it’s not so easy to make the steel shell casings. The metal is a very unique alloy as well as a special heat treating process that makes the steel come apart in small fragments that range from 1/2”-3 1/2” in size and they have jagged, sharp edges that rip into anything they hit when detonated. If they used just any available steel to form the steel shell casing then it’ll just rip open a seam along the length of the shell and produce a fraction of the properly made shell casing.
There are no 'dual-use' applications for such metallurgy.
How Diabolically fiendish
This is why this weapon is hideous. There's no limit to the evils of the human mind/brain. Ain't war great?
@@chipschannel9494 You sound pleased with this
@@MouldyCheesePie hmmmm hmhmhm!
With France putting the begging bowl out to Australia to provide it with the explosives to make 155mm shells it’s obvious that European military industrial capacity is chronically deficient.
Probably for fear of those facilities being destroyed or captured?
The Europeans don't like manufacturing and workers either. It can't be called green.
Yes, Australia has only just started manufacturing 155 shells itself, but I would not have thought we would make enough explosives to make much of a difference in the Ukraine war. I suppose it all helps increase the French manufacturing capacity. It should gets things really humming in the new Australian facilities though.
USA ściąga z paru krajów wypełnienie do pocisków. Również z Polski. My chyba jesteśmy z Europy?
@@robman2095w Polsce produkujemy pociski do 120 i 155. Wysyłamy masę prochu do USA by wypełniali swoje pociski. Nasze fabryki są rozbudowywane. Do 2026 mamy robić z 37 do 100 tysięcy karabinów rocznie, z 24 do 120 dział krab ( w tej chwili okolo 60 rocznie) a potroić się produkcją pocisków Grom . Otwieramy fabrykę czołgów, bwp borsuk( ma być od 120 do 200 rocznie) fabrykę koreańskich himars, fabrykę okrętów/ fregaty.. kupujemy od sąsiadów i innychdużo broni. Do 2026 będzie dodatkowo 540 czołgów, okolo 300 himars okolo 550 nowych krab i K9 tworzymy nowy system obrony powietrznej( to jest najdroższe ,ponad 20 baterii p.lotniczych i nowe sieci radarów.. wszystko to dopięte w sieć wojskowa ,,topaz. " Ukraina używa kawałek naszej sieci. Część artyleryjska. Czyli drony i komputery i działa 155 mm lub warmate lub himars. W sieć wplatają Ukraińcy działa zachodniej produkcji. Można wpiąć w topaz.
We’ve come so far since 1918 haven’t we
? sharpened bone will kill a human just as easily as it did in 200,000 BCE.
Not at all and we never will.
only the west, and not in a good way
80% of war casualties for 200 year's cannon and mortar fire! 😮🇺🇦💙. (🙏☮️)
Learn from the past they said
Don’t repeat the same mistakes they said
More wars anyone , propping up the corporate military complex
Bombs aren’t profitable sitting in warehouses collecting dust
🕊☮🕊
Both South Korea and North Korea have large artillery shells production capacity and massive stockpile of shells. South Korea sent 300k NATO shells to USA and North Korea, 1 million shells to Russia (equivalent 152 mm shells) Now South Korea become artillery shell supplier of NATO.
but NorKor shells not as good as even older soviet one (source: russian milbloggers)
South Korea NEVER sent any shells to North Korea. You meant NATO I think. South Korea has 3rd largest artillery and stockpiled 155 and 105mm for decades. It has been prepped for artillery duel like what's going on in Ukraine.
Works for me.
You know what he meant, SK sent it to US to send to Ukraine. SK needs their own artillery stockpile for war with NK@@Joseph-eh4rs
@@Joseph-eh4rs Looks like a punctuation error. Here, I fixed it: "South Korea sent 300k NATO shells to USA, and North Korea 1 million shells to Russia".
The problem with the ramjet shell is that it will likely not have as much explosive filler as a normal shell.
and cost. Jdams are still the cheapest way to hit ground over long distances.
It doesn't need it
The benefit of a
ideally the fuel/propellant could be an additional explosive. but yes even so without being able to increase the dimensions you cant give it the same explosives payload unless you change the explosive material.
No, the biggest problem with RAP rounds (as we call it) is that it tears the gun tube up.
Destroys the howitzer barrel faster. Any Paladin or Triple 7 gunbunny can tell you that loading M549 up the spout makes battery gun chiefs squirm in discomfort. Not sure about XM1113
The major difference between USA/EU and Russia is the planning and the property structure. The US/EU planning was based on maintaining the numbers that are spent in training and for USA - maintaining two small wars vs. ragtag goatherders with rusty AKs. Then all these order go to PRIVATE contractors. And as we are well aware, businesses do not have the habit to keep assets that are not bringing profit as it affects the stocks prices, the dividends and as well - the CEO bonuses. Moreover - if anything can be outsourced - it is getting outsourced as this increases the profit margins and lowers the maintenance expenses. E.g. the US manufactured 155mm shells are filled with HE that is produced in Poland. Only 20% of the steel, used for casings is domestically produced. So, ramping up the production means that USA needs not only new shell plants, but additional HE production, additional deliveries or production of steel and so on.
On the other hand, the entire heavy armament production cycle in Russia is predominantly state owned and 100% state controlled. And they kept their old plants frozen because they have learned from history how important the industrial base and the self-sufficiency are if things go south. Moreover, they have the resources and the energy to restart them in very short terms and most importantly - not being dependent on sub-contractors.
The Russians remember their history but we try to forget it. Or maybe they're just smarter than we are. It's possible but we're arrogant and will never admit it.
doesn't seem very wise to outsource arms production
@@neilreynolds3858 I'll go with the latter. Arrogant and too proud to admit they f*cked up by shipping their manufacturing abroad for that cheap labor.
@@extrastout1111 Nothing America has done since the end of WW2 has been wise.
You have huge flaws in your argument. First - No one knows what additional production capacity Russia has been able to bring online. Since they inherited massive stockpiles from the Soviet Union, are currently importing ammunition from North Korea, and have dropped their rate of consumption by over half since the previous year it's doubtful it's anywhere significant enough to prove your point. Second - Russia is a raw material exporter and a finished goods importer. T14 Armata zombie program. Su-57 Felon zombie program as examples of sanctions castrating next generation Russian weapons programs. Even replacing tubes on artillery platforms, the two plants that produce 152mm tubes rely on a limited number of Italian machining tools; they can't get any more from Italy... will they be able order equivalent tools from China probably, but they don't produce them themselves. Russia is hardly self reliant and if we continue to see Russian artillery consumption drop, we'll know claims such as yours are not reliable. Even your claim about HE production, the US may have secured additional sources of HE (in the form of TNT) from Poland, but it's primary supply of of HE (in the form of IMX) is sourced from BAE Systems and is produced at Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. I also don't know what your point about steel is since it's one of the cheapest raw materials in the world market. Not trying to be rude, but I'd be surprised if you can source any of your claims.
The fact that Israel with top line military hardware needs financial and military aid to fight a collection of oppressed peoples is embarrassing
It’s a war crime for the IDF to be using 155s in Gaza.
they using us to get rich
😂 they receive Billion from the USA a year in funding, if they can get it they will, there Jewish lol
Free Palestine frb
Need is a strong word, Israel military budget is 100 billion US aid is maybe 5 billion. Israel produces 155mm shells so need is a strong word
Industrially one nation has the advantage along with worldwide access to the natural resources.
In my opinion, Ukrain is exposing a lot about NATO vulnerabilities and sourcing of needed resources.
The good news is that NATO is actually learning from this. The US is vastly growing their shell production (the US will produce about 10 times more shells in 2028 than it did in 2018) and changing their battle tactics. Germany is rearming their air force and investing heavily into their infantry and factories. Poland and other Eastern European nations are buying HIMARS and other systems for protection. Europe is weaning off of Russian oil and gas, and the US is starting to produce uranium domestically again. Still a long way to go, but countries are reacting.
Yeah, Russia didn't reveal anything about it's warfighting capability over the past two years... did it?
@@nicholasjohnson778 Before invading Ukraine people thought Russia was a superpower that could storm over Europe .🤔
@@Crashed131963 not just Ukraine
Entire western or even world (include me) *WERE* believe Russia would rush this war and win within 3 day or matter of week
Yes a very useful wakeup call to European countries, many of whom have not pulled their weight in Nato or self defence generally, preferring to rely unfairly on the US. They should come out of this better prepared to defend themselves.
I find it disingenuous to not list EU numbers as well. Because while the analyst talks about "difficulties" EU+GB has still increased its production from 230,000 shells per year to over 600,000 shells per year in November (ie, at least 50,000 shells during November 2023), and will hit 1 million shells per year this autumn. The difficulties was that they were hoping to hit 1 million shells before April, but that's not going to happen.
EDA (EUs department for Defence collaboration) has also worked out agreements over the last year for some absolutely massive orders of 155mm. So "failure to order" isn't exactly true either.
Glad you took the time to bring in some details regarding EU production. I think the main point behind "failure to order" is not what you’re ready to buy today or next year... but what you’re willing to buy every year for the next 15 years.
Defense industry loves orders... but short term orders rarely justify a huge change in production volume.
Anyway, not a rebuttal to your post; as an American I'm deeply thankful that Europe has stepped up as the U.S. waivers.
Source(s) please.
There is a reason they don't mention Russian production because they are vastly outproducing all of NATO :)
@@HarryF-tz5fo Russia is also spending 9 million shells per year (25000 rounds per day on average. Down from over 60000 shells per day). That means that 75% of their expenditure comes from their stockpiles. Unlike Ukraine they're probably never getting out of that deficit unless the war ends.
@@HarryF-tz5fo This seems to contradict the claims that Russia has been using significant quantities of cold war stockpiles accumulated over decades and importing North Korean artillery shells.
Imagine firing that shell 90 miles…
I wonder how long it would take to reach its target. Also Iv always wanted to see a Go Pro in the tip of a shell and watch the footage of it flying through the air.
A battleship could throw the weight of a volkswagon 50 miles.
it woudl not be so effective - bc small explosive. itis better to buidl a drone with such range. basicaly itis dead project already
@sguploads9601 you have no idea what you're talking about.
@@R290s_biggest_fanyeah exactly lol
$8k for a single artillery shell? is that with the 10% for the big guy or without?
That's nothing. Missiles cost 1 to 2 million each.
@@EatMyShortsAUand those are cheap ones
But still,missiles aren’t used in millions
@@joemamaobama6863 cheap ones are usually sub 1mil, hellfire/ATGM types, cruise missiles costing around 700k-1.5 mil is normal, esp a low observable one
Yeah true but I think demand outstrips supply right now, plus inflation.@@joemamaobama6863
Due to inflation, the Big Guy now gets 30%.
How is a hunk of steel packed with some explosives supposed to cost $8,000 per shell? Can we have a breakdown in the numbers please?
corruption. Only those completely divorced from reality will say that it does not exist in Europe and the United States. for example, the cost of the same projectile in Russia is about $800
supply and demand, much demand little supply: prices rise. U are welcome.
Originally they were $2100 according to the video. Think about the skilled labor required - engineers needed to design the shells and tooling, machinists to fabricate the metal components, electronics assembly techs to build the fuzes, explosives techs who know how to safely manufacture and handle the explosives. THEN there's the cost of facilities and the utilities needed to run those facilities, and the insurance for explosives handling facilities, and the maintenance of the facilities and tools. On top of that, government contracts often have special requirements that can drive up costs in other unexpected ways that I'm not even going to try to get into. With all those factors, $2100 per shell is a miracle. Then, when demand goes up (as it does when war breaks out), supply goes down, so the price naturally increases to lower demand to what can be supplied. Source - worked in government contracting
The same thing happened with masks and other medical supplies during COVID. Everyone wants them yesterday, and you get a cascade effect where there is a shortage of all your inputs overnight. It's not just the companies manufacturing the shells, but the metal, explosive, paint, etc.
The Tools and Mashines (not many Companies build them), propellend base chemical mix and powder, licenses, skilled worker, demand The floor shells are also milled that cost time.
And dependinh on your shell typ it also gets some tech
Israel is extremely wealthy. Their military outnumbers Gaza’s military 10 to 1. Why does Israel need the United States to supply them with military support?
Ukraine is fighting Russia. A country with over 4x their population and with massive weapons stockpiles. Ukraine obviously needs help. Israel obviously doesn’t, so why is anyone worried about Israel?
It's even a joke to call Hamas the military of Gaza. They are a bunch of terrorists with bottle rockets.
Right and are they getting into protracted artillery battles with the Palestinians? Can’t see how they would be in dire need given all the advantages they already have on the battlefield.
It baffles me that you were not able to put two and two together here.... Why do you think the Israeli military is strong?
@@CrazyGaming-ig6qq, Do you believe that Israel’s military isn’t strong? How come Gaza is demolished?
South Korea produces 10,000 155mm shells at a low rate per month, and the South Korean Army's one-year training consumption is more than 100,000. If the maximum production is more than 42,000 shots a month, and 500,000 shots a year.
Over the past year, the price of a 155mm shell has tripled from $300 to $900 per shot. For the past 20 years, when Western Europe has been on guard by excessive disarmament, South Korea has always been at the forefront of the free camp, and now South Korea has become an arsenal of the free camp.
The South Korean Army suddenly became the second strongest army in the free camp.
Free camp? Ironically the only thing free in south Korea is crippling depression.
South Korea was a military dictatorship up until the 90's and still in camp with the western imperialist alliance. Freedom has nothing to do with S. Korea's relationship to the west
“Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.” - Charlie Munger
I'll bet you thought that would sound smart. It doesn't.
The incentive is to block trade between Russia and Europe. Whats the outcome?
@@unai_asecas9070 "... between Russia and _Germany_ ..." FIFY
It has been a fear that Germany & Russia would align forces since 1920. The manufacturing might of GE and the raw materials of RU.
@@unai_asecas9070put everyone in debt so they can't legally fight back while skimming off incredibly inflated aid packages with extremely suspect producers and cost. even if they steal 0.5% every package they are some of the richest people in their respective country.
Even the the cheapest version can't be produced enough, those ultra-expensive guided longer range versions will be for parades only.
0:10 so Ukraine needs real powerful and large 155mm shells to fight a superpower. Russia.
0:21 But? Israel needs 155mm shells because they are running out of that when they are shelling civilian targets?
For real, why is even continuing to supply Israel in the question. If I wanted the US to spend money around Israel, it'd be on a complete trade blockade until they cease all military operations.
For real, why is even continuing to supply Israel in the question. If I wanted the US to spend money around Israel, it'd be on a complete trade blockade until they cease all military operations.
OKAY! After ten weeks, it might be reasonable to ask Prime Minister Netanyahu to take a deep breath...
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant is a undergoing a 2 billion dollar update, they make 120 and 155 there, but not the ram jets. Good amount of new jobs
So Ukraine can expect those on 2050?
@@ericp1139 I spewed my Coke!!!
Ramp production faster. Doing it at the current pace just means it will come online when it’s no longer needed. Then the expensive factories will be in place but soon be idle and the new jobs will disappear there or at some other US plant.
No they will get a continual trickle, even at the Army Goal of 85,000 per month by 2028 couldn’t keep up with them guys at 8-10k per day
@@Redsson56 The whole world is low so there will be millions needed even if Ukraine won tomorrow
I'm afraid the USA and EU vastly under estimated the need for artillery shells. Ramping up from minimal produced to wartime production has been much to slow. Think there should of been / should be government incentives / cash to ramp up production.
Yes, field artillery was reclassed to MPs and other MOS for the OIF OEF.
indeed they never knew before that they can be more genocidal after using them.
and it's exactly what the Soviets predicted back in the late 1980s. As anti aircraft missile technology increased, and by the late 1980s S-300 and Patriot missile systems could already engage 50-100+ miles away. The Soviets realized that all you would need to do is saturate air defenses at the front line and even SEAD would fail. Air power would not be as relevant as people thought, but cruise missiles and artillery would be key. Now we see the war in Ukraine and surprise surprise the Russians didn't rush in airpower (to all the confused NATO headlines of "where is Russia's air force?") and Russia had stockpiles of artillery shells in the millions, and production capacities per annum greater than all of NATO combined...
The USA/EU hasn't underestimate the need, they just didn't care enough. Both the US and EU is still very much in peacetime economies, nothing has really changed in that regard. A bit more spending on military, but that's basically it. Meanwhile Russia is quickly bankrupting itself by extreme state budget allocated to the military. Russia can keep it up at the current rate probably for a year and then there's no more, but the current rate is insanely high so if they change the rate of consumption which I would expect and start rationing their stockpiles instead and add to that additional supplies or ammunition from Iran or North Korea, Russia may last for several years. Putins hope is that the west caves in and stop supporting Ukraine, that's his only hope.
@@CrazyGaming-ig6qqi fully agree that the west is in peacetime mode, but I've heard that Russia is a year away from breaking economically for, well, for a year now.
I personally fired over 1,000 of these in my 3 years in. one of the last few artillery men that got to do it.
probably the best vid on youtube, on this topic, thank you
The ammo plant at NASA in south MS was closed back in the late 80s early 90s. It produced the 155 mm round. It was closed because the miltary said they didnt need anymore as they said they had more stored than could ever be used in ANY WAR....who is lying?
So was the Shell plants in Eastern Ohio, Pittsburgh and Johnstown. Technically none had produced shells since Vietnam, but till the early 1990s were maintained to quickly produce the shells needed. Other shell plants were closed in the 1990s, for it was assumed we will no longer need the shells those plants could produced..
@paulmentzer7658 I never knew that a out Johnstown. I live fairly close to there and did my clinicals at Conemaugh hospital in Johnstown.
Today in the WSJ - this.
Tomorrow in the WSJ - Why rain makes thing wet.
It definitely wont be anything about the border. Unless it is documenting some random family that drowned doing something stupid like crossing a river rather than going through one of the 25 checkpoints.
It's a shockingly poor article, even for the woeful standards of WSJ.
Only now? This is a major staple of South Korea's military. (South Korea is is currently supplying the US.)
My question is Israel has a very capable military, why supply shells to Israel instead of Ukraine? Israel should be fine without additional supply.
More shells is more maintenace, so you also need more barrel-and recoilunitproduction ,everybody forgets this . greets from Berlin
I was a US artilleryman for years... Don't underestimate the power of this munition...
The fact that they're even sending artillery shells to Israel is ridiculous. It's being used offensively. Ukraine at least it's used defensively
Israel is far more important than Ukraine so they will get everything they want including 155 mm shells
Ukraine will have to use the little amount given to them
Ukraine started the war so not true at all
You're telling me Isreal needs artillery shells to fight in an Urban environment?
Now you get it!
against a terrorist group. while Ukraine fights a giant country
Can’t level a civilization without them!
Didn't he just say in the video, that they're not using it?
@@MrTechVO Quite right. The "anotherdrifter" poster didn't listen very well. This video made clear that Israel wasn't using that many of these shells and explained why.
In WWII until Vietnam, the 105mm was the most desired or desirable artillery shell type, light, easy to manufacture and have enough range to conduct fire missions, from the start of the 21st century countries have been slowly adapting 155mm and its howitzer or guns, it's bigger , more powerful but it's hard to manufacture in large numbers, 155mm has been the most standard western artillery shell from 21st century onwards.
I wouldn't say the start was in the 21st more like starting in the 60s with the M109
We still use 105mm easily for us to transport and fight in mountains and jungles apparently we won’t be fighting in flat plains or steppes. We are also too poor to afford 155mm we could only fire like 6 shells a year with our budget.
You are quite correct. Even in WWII we had the M12 SPH firing 155s. Cheers@@holo2762
The 155mm was used during ww2
Isn't S. Korea providing more than 60% of all 155 shells for Ukraine and Israel?
No, your thinking of north Korea supplying artillery shells to the Russian military!!
I think Canada and Australia are also helping Ukraine with 155mm shells as well...😮
@@MrDredd1966 Where do you think Australian and Canadian 155mm shells come from? Most of the shells come from S.Korea.
@@kjseo84 no, Australia makes the outside metal casings, then sends them to France to have the primer and explosive propellant added then it is sent to Ukraine!!
Australia is going to upgrade its manufacturing capacity of 155mm artillery rounds so it can make them completely!!
@@MrDredd1966Dude South Korea provide 64% of whole 155mm shell to US and we send that shell to Ukraine so Australia can't provide 2.000.000 artillery shells for 2 years it's South Korea
Israel is fighting random terrorists, they already have f-35s and all the latest tech. Ukraine is fighting the worlds modern nazis, all our help should be directed towards UKRAINE!
Israel is far more important than Ukraine
It is not about the enemy it's about the side you care about
If your mom was injured lightly and a stranger was in critical condition would you care more about your mom or the stranger
The level of injury doesn't matter
The side you care about the most does matter
@@baha3alshamari152 Bro, they bought our politicians (see AIPAC)
If I only had a machine shop. Wonder if I can get a government loan to open a 155mm artillery shell factory. Look at me, I'm a job creator!
This story is beyond stupid. Howitzer shells mean little at this stage in the war. It's a lot of nonsense to sell newspapers.
no because you aren't a general's son
@@squidwardo7074 you don't know me! For real though I'm not.
Funny. It's like to start producing statins or drugs for dementia while phizer or j&j across the street look at you.
thats how you end up mistaken as a deer by mr.cheney
"War! Huh! What is it good for? Increasing domestic manufacturing." - Bo Burnham
So that's why I can't find them at Bass Pro!
i know a guy..
I would argue that the M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) is just as important as the artillery shell. One PGK will reduce the number of shells needed to take out a target by ten fold, reducing the cost and overall logistics needed to effectively hit a target.
That's not good for profits. How would the shareholders of the military contractors feel about that?
@@kimmeexfr why sell 1000 guidance kits once when you can sell 10000 shells repeatedly
Yea right. Have you seen the videos of the war. The out come of a shot is time. The round with no one's there is a wasted round
PGKs/Excaliburs don't really reduce the cost (well, maybe now with the price hike for a 155mm the PGK does. The Excalibur doesn't since the shell costs 100k USD). The main benefit is reduced collateral damage, the ability to use the shell in Danger Close (close to friendly troops), reduced logistics pressure and faster fire missions (reducing the vulnerability of artillery crews).
Granted the GPS signal is not jammed... good peice of kit to keep in stock.
😂😂 I’m sure the artillery makers don’t want war to end soon.
The war would end immediately if Putin withdraws his troops.
Excellent explanation 👌
We should be engaged in peace deals, not arming criminal regimes.
we are. We make deals peacefully with Ukraine and Israel, while not arming the criminal regimes, that is Hamas and Russia.
@@DYFortescuewhat is your criteria of criminal regime? Is killing children one of them?
@@DYFortescueBig copium right there
@@rizkymubaroq3025 Is invading a Music Feasible and stealing the audience warfare to the Gaza government ?
Artillery is still king in warfare
If you know how to use it right. We don't seem to.
@@neilreynolds3858 Something is going right if a superpower invades a country right on its border and can't get the job done in 2 years .
Could you seen the USA invading Canada or Mexico and taking 2 years to topple their governments ?
@@Crashed131963 you have no idea what war really looks like.
@@alexbukovsky4621 The US toppled the Iraq government in Baghdad in 4 weeks that was on the other side of the world.
Not over the border like Kyiv .
She Sells 155mm Shells on the Sea Shore
I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.
NATO standard munitions, like the 155, are never in short supply...witness that nearly every NATO signatory country has their own domestic production capability for shells.
If anything, the biggest issue with so many shells being made by so many hands is quality control...don't want out of calibration 'Schindler Shells', do we?
Their domestic production was geared to produce a maximum of 10k shells per month for the whole of the EU .
This was massively below what has been sent to Ukraine
Russia is making 4.5 million per year, vastly outpacing NATO
You don't need these shells when you got drones that cost a quarter of the price.
Russia is ahead in drone production too.
Have you been living under a rock? You absolutely need artillery shells. Drones can't make up for a significant lack of artillery.
I have boats so I don't need submarines?
More than 200k shells a moth at $8k apiece...and then go on with such rate for 3 years? And then these countries claim to not be able to support the poor have homes or afford food.
Our weapons industry is booming, no pun intended.
Liar
Bot shill
😂
Poland production rate of 155mm increasing from 50k pre 2022 to 200k 2024 per annum. Also Poland produce still 152mm but numbers are not disclosed.
Ukraine is the most PRIORITY! Israel should not receive any!
I was a radar repairman, back in the day, for the US ARMY. Seeing all this newer stuff, I am always amazed by the engineering af it all.Thousand of rounds fired from one gun and almost very few failures, I assume. All these rounds being handled all the time and you never hear of one accidently going off. I would like to see the EU step up a bit and get some wartime stuff ramped up. This is their backyard afterall.
Easily because Israel doesn't really need our weapons they have their own domestic production. Ukraine is fighting a large scale war wearas Israel is fighting an assemetric war those kinda fights require different weapons.
Korea is the country with the world's largest possession of 155mm artillery shells. It is a country that has been preparing for war for 60 years and is crazy about artillery power. The number of 155mm shells is unofficially held at over 6 million+. We secretly delivered 500,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine to the United States, which is more than the support provided by all European countries. Korea's 155mm artillery shell production surpasses that of Western countries. In addition, the production cost is very low due to mass production and ownership. North Korea has already provided large quantities of artillery shells and missiles to Russia, tilting the war towards Russia. If Korea provides weapons to Ukraine in earnest, the outcome of the war will change again.
Its just that North Korean shells tend to blow up. State production.
Israel doesn’t need artillery for a police action.
US should support Ukraine more than it already does instead of helping Israel in the genocide of the palestinians
South Korea stepped up the plate and hit a grand slam.
Wow that's awesome
they pronounce kiev in the funniest ways since 2022
"KEEV!!! we fight for keev!!!!"
Thank you military industrial complex for sponsoring this video
Weapons manufacturers: *Bring me my money* 🤑🤑🤑
WSJ you’re conflating / padding this story line. Basic 155mm artillery shells can be provided to both countries. Not sure how many shells Israeli forces need given size of Gaza
PS - Guessing South Korea is the only country with excess production capacity and maybe India now that it has adopted 155mm artillery within its weapons inventory.
The idf doesn't deserve them
Azov doesn't either. TBH I'm not sure America deserves them either the way they've been warring across the middle east since at least the 90's
WOW, this is so glamorous, every one should have some.
How much artillery is Israel using?
Ukraine is fighting Russia. A country with over 4x their population and with massive weapons stockpiles. Ukraine obviously needs help. Israel obviously doesn’t, so why is anyone worried about Israel?
amazing that NATO nations all use 155mm but have precious little manufacturing capability, all of NATO had total stockpiles of just a few million rounds and they could not manufacture a million in a year. Ridiculously complacent and for them to be unable to supply Ukraine 2 years into the war is absolutely disgraceful. Sending precious rounds to Israel is wrong, they’re breaking international law in their war on Gaza
The world didn't know how good they had it back in 2019..... this future is awful!
High intensity combat supply consumption per day (from memory):
WW1 division 10-30 tons
Early WW2 German divisions 50-150 tons (by type)
Late WW2 Allied divisions 200-600 tons
1991 NATO armoured divisions 1000-1500 tons (by terrain and climate)
Of which ~90% is usually artillery ammo (Commonest calibre: WW1 75mm; WW2 105mm, modern 155mm)
You can make IEDs with those. They did that in Iraq.
Yes. IADs made from artillery shells and even dud 500-lb. bombs killed a lot of US and ARVN soldiers, plus the inevitable civilian deaths, during the Vietnam War.
@@thomasbell7033 Yup. IEDs were the number 1 cause of US casualties in Iraq.
FYI, 155mm shells were first used in 1916 by the French. They calculated that 155mm was the ideal diameter for a common soldier to carry, on a daily basis, for days on.
you forgot to mention that ukrainians didnt use WP shells)
and we still use A LOT of 122-152 shells
Słyszałem że kraj z Bałkanów pomaga Ukrainie w tych amunicja.
The US and NATO countries need to shop around and get better pricing. I get “supply and demand” but high demand should also be creating competition between manufacturers.
The US has an annual military budget of (I believe) ~$8.4 Billion. You’d think we’d have so much ammunition that it’d be falling out out of our pockets as we walk around. What kind of bulk rate bargains are we getting for our money? Sounds like not very good ones!
The US military budget is TEN times larger than your guess of $8.4 Billion = its actually closer to $877 billion annually!
There is no way that they will EVER run out of amunition!
@@someguydino6770 I knew it was 8-something…. and a number that a human brain can barely comprehend! 😂
Wait, so the EU has been talking about artillery shells for over a year now but has just now in 2024 placed an order large enough to make private industry move the needle. Why didn't the EU or NATO think to place an order as soon as the war started? I mean, why in the world did it take so long to agree that artillery was need asap.
Because the EU and NATO talk big but everyone knows they can’t make any decisions unless America gives them permission first.
You forget that the war was supposed to be over in a month. Remember, Russia was going to collapse because everybody there hated Putin and they were going to rise up and throw him out. All of our "Russia experts" said so. They still do. They obviously know nothing about Russians so how did they get to be our experts?
@@myron1231234 No, this is about political incompetence and a horrible bureaucracy that makes getting anything done 5x as long.
@@rickjames18 Perhaps they easily expected to defeat Russia, without using additional funds and weapons. I saw interviews with some Ukrainian soldiers who were sure that as soon as the Russians saw the Ukrainian army and Western weapons, the Russians would flee in panic...
@@Tonik-13 Yeah, possibly but to be fair many of the early Russian pushes ended in routes. The major one was the Kherson area pushback. So, the Russians did leave in panic with tons of equipment left behind but most of those trained soldiers are now dead. What we see on the trenchline now are mostly conscripts not professionals. I would be really interested in knowing how many actual professionals are still alive from the initial invasion.
Peace, Is always Best, 😊😊❤❤
6:19 Wouldn't manufacturing 155mm shells within Ukraine just make the factories a target for the Russians? I doubt they could keep the location of the factories a secret for long.
Russia is unable to overcome Ukraine air defense
They are being targeted and destroyed. Russia is indeed overcoming Ukraine's air defense. That's why Ukraine is asking for helf for artillery/rockets/AD etc. from the west.
@@sinistersilverado965 russia is blowing up ukraine's electricity grid as we speak
Amazing
War is very expensive
Horribly expensive. It's not something that an already bankrupt country should contemplate but here we are.
War is very profitable.
FIFY
its more expensive to russia than to the west though, thats what matters :)
They should send more to Ukraine and nothing to Israel.
At this time I say no more military equipment to Israel they have enough. Ukraine needs help now.
Israel asked for an additional 300k artillery shells and they will get them
Ukraine will have to wait in line
Israel is a very wealthy country, we should not have to give them anything including money. Why is my taxpayer $ going to a country that does not need it? Let them buy what they want from us. Also they should not be using 155mm shells in gaza, its full of civilians. This is not the right way to go after Hamas, I disagree with this approach!
If you have a steel works plant in your backyard that manufactures NATO standard 155mm shells, then you're going to be a rich man and have a license to earn money, probably even tax fre.
3:38 Then one might wonder who is forced to pay to donate this type of ammunition to corrupt Ukraine?
Ukraine does not pay for this ammunition, it is the tax payers from the country all the "aid" comes from, these tax payers have nothing to do with the war but are still forced to pay because some corrupt politicians want to make money from this, There is no tax payer who benefits this war, it is only those companies that manufacture war materiel that get money and it is tax money they get from the state to manufacture war materiel for ukraine and for israel.
It is the corrupt "Elite" who profit from the war.
If you as a citizen want to profit from war, you buy shares in the companies that manufacture these materials
A couple of factors contributing: a) Ukraine early on was using old Soviet/Russian artillery doctrine, where accuracy was compromised for area saturation. While that's is one aspect of artillery usage, it's not the only factor hence the high consumption-rate. Currently Ukraine forces are much better trained, the use of forward observers to call in artillery is more wide-spread hence their accuracy has greatly increased as has their lethality. b) Western powers supplying Ukraine hadn't been in any prolonged conflicts where artillery usage was a major factor. While previous conflicts have utlitzed artillery for battlefield prep or, surgical strikes, the prolonged war with daily fire missions has been a wake-up call for governments reviewing their budgets and stockpiles...TLDR- governments need to take to their militaries about what is really needed
Ukrainians didnt mimic NATO doctrine with forward observers, rather they start small revolution in artillery since 2014, creating direct link between drones and firing units+by introducing several apps/user-friendly software for artillerists and for all who use indirect fire.
What nonsense is this? Yesterday CNN showed AFU M109 team firing 155mm SMOKE SHELLS as that's all they have. The guy interviewed said "old Soviet stuff is better because its easier to get and always works".
Western weapons are luxury props. They are high maintenance, which can only be enjoyed by solid logistic tails. Western weapons are not designed to fight long wars against near-peers. The only reason the AFU lasted so long is because of their Soviet stockpiles.
@@trevorsutherland5263 I'm with you. This comment does not fit the reality I'm seeing in interviews with soldiers.
"Currently Ukraine forces are much better trained, the use of forward observers to call in artillery is more wide-spread hence their accuracy has greatly increased as has their lethality" ah yes THAT EXPLAINS HOW THE GREAT COUNTER OFFENSIVE has gone nowhere for 6 months.
Would love to see some stats on shell consumption at the most active areas of the Ukraine front, compared to battles like Verdun, or the Somme, or some of the other major offensive actions during WW1.
I don't think it's even close, in WW1 they had battery after battery firing 24/7 without stopping
This is the real reason why the US economy is doing so well right now.
What a predicament!! Who should take precedence??? Who should the US supply, a country defending itself from an invasion, or a country committing genocide and other assorted warcrimes? What to do, what to do....
false dichotomy. how about neither.
israel should not be armed,
Interesting bit about the price per unit for artillery shells. But you are not taking into account the purchasing power parity between Western and Russian producers.
Russia is spending about $600 per 152mm shell.
Thats actually quite scary the US is supposed to be able to fight in 2 fronts with no problem they should have millions of does shells stored or in general have ammo ready to give it to their allies in case of war i know the US is not known for their artillery power unlike its airpower but still.
@takunveritas😂😂😂mistake ? Your president claimed America can it is more of ignorance and arrogance not mistake
the US doesn't use artillery because we mostly use drones, smart bombs and aircraft when we attack things... we have little to no use for artillery and ground combat is slowly being phased out. most of what we make is for NATO so we only had a limited stockpile to start with and Ukraine has misused most of what we gave them which is why they're currently losing. Germany's defense department said back in like August or September that they could easily start production on those artillery shells but the gov't had to give them the go ahead... clearly Germany is struggling with budgets as can be seen with the farmers strike. Germany also has a law that does NOT allow them to go into a deficit so they can't just spend into oblivion like the US does with it's military... the US has more rockets and bombs that have far higher precision and actually DO something when you fire it at a target that's either moving or stationary... artillery can't hit moving targets! it is for fortifications and entrenchments! if you're still scared after all this then you should do some actual research and understand how war works. i was told all throughout this conflict that "Russian's are smart enough" and i laughed because Russia has been fighting wars for longer than some of those peasant colonies have existed, Russia was at one point in time the second most powerful military on the planet... if you count the nuclear arsenal they still are! at the peak of WW2 Russia had 70,000 tanks, the US only had 50,000... but the US also produced more ships, planes, vehicles and ammo than the rest of the world combined in the 4 short years that we were in the war... US not producing a worthless artillery shell is the least of concerns lol... maybe if Hunter Biden wasn't doing what he was doing back in 2014 when interestingly enough ALL of this conflict started happening... we wouldn't have a war on our hands...
@@ToeCutter454your wrong about something, the US reduced production because the conflicts that we have been in over the last few decades didn’t require a large war of attrition like the conflict in Ukraine.
Planning for military production is done years in advance
@@ToeCutter454 Artillery is one of the most important things in the military even in modern day conflicts i doubt the US can achieve air superiority as easy against Russia and China i hope im wrong but i cant see that happening like they did in iraq.
You basically answered it in the end. The US just doesn't fight much with artillery and neither do their Nato allies. Ukraine inherited the russian army doctrine with tons of artillery use. Nato wasn't really willing to equip Ukraine with air power and wanted to let them fight thier way.
The 155 MM shell was invented for the French Army back in 1874, so it's been around for a long time. It is the most used shell in the world by far.
I love how the price per shell has gone fourfold even though the need has gone up 10 fold. Do I sense a bit of price gouging here? Good 'ole American Companies.
I’m sure there is corruption since it’s military procurement. But still, basic supply and demand would predict prices going up substantially when demand goes up.
Apparently you don't understand how capitalism works: that's not "price gouging", that's "market opportunity". It has always always worked that way, and it will always work that way.
It would be nice to see the breakdown of costs. A huge demand spike could for sure strain the costs of materials like steel, primers, lead, etc. and cause prices to go up. But I doubt that it accounts for most of the spike in costs. Someone is pocketing a ton of money I am sure.
Do you understand how working with the government drives up prices?
@@thekinginyellow1744 I understand Capitalism just fine. When you buy a few of something the initial price is always high due to the cost of materials etc. When you buy millions of something, like an artillery round, it is expected to go down in price due to mass orders of materials. Going up 300 percent is a bit much unless the first order came in 1990. That is how Capitalism is supposed to work. Price-gouging is upping the price exponentially when the orders fly in.
no we cannot. We are short. A couple channels try to defelct and say we are not but then they admit it will take 5 years to rebuild our stock
The actual numbers of US stock are classified but it's somewhere in the 10's of millions of shells. The production rates are intentionally slow to keep the factories functional during peace. In a war the US was directly involved in the ramp rate would be quicker. The stock is low in the sense that it wouldn't be possible to meet multiple contingencies, not that there isn't enough left for a small war.
We are not short. We have been giving away our EXCESS shells. We keep a stockpile stored incase we are directly involved in a war.
What a great business 👏
Great video.
these wars are a waste of resources.. we should pouring resources to explore and terraforming other planets
We need long time contracts with ammo factories, so they can afford the risk of ramping up productions.
105mm feels left out 😢
Not destructive enough
@@zedeyejoe depends on that destructive power, Can i ask, how much cost different between 105 vs 155mm shell without fuse
@@dernadaarmando2948 It has been decided that 155mm is now the standard size. 105mm is used for light artillery. Russia uses 152mm and and 122mm as standard sizes.
Cost of ammunition has gone up with demand. I gather that an unguided (dumb) 155mm round is now $8,000 each (up from $2,000, used to be $750). I can see a price for a 105mm round, $750. I don't know how current that is. Prices should drop once more shell production comes on-line.
@@zedeyejoe oh so its mean, in terms normal demand, 155 and 105 have quite similar price?
@@dernadaarmando2948 Yep 105mm just a bit smaller. Only difference in cost will be amount of material used and demand!
A General said in 2021 "If - no - when the Russian attack we will run low in 155m shells very fast. We need to increase production massively." All NATO Generals agreed on this simple fact.
What did happen for two years?
Nothing.
Politicians acting like scared birds.
Why are we supporting israel? when have they supported us?
Because no politician can win a position or get elected or nominated without the approval of AIPAC and other Israeli lobbying groups
They support our politicians all the time!
We test your weapons, and protect your ME interests (aka oil and supply routes).
@@jonathanpriel5013
Israel existence is the entire point not the oil which is declining in value
I to am also in high demand for 15mm shells. **I haven't acquired a single one** but that doesn't stop me from watching facebook market place.. 😂