UNACCEPTABLE: Army Falls Short of 155mm Production Goal.

The Army — in response to diminishing stockpiles as it supported Ukraine’s defense against Russia — set a goal to produce 100,000 155mm artillery rounds per month by this October.

The service opened a number of new facilities to support this endeavor — and as one Army official stated, “We haven’t seen this level of investment in our industrial base since World War II.”

However, the Army is going to fall short of its goal. Service spokesperson Steve Warren told reporters in July that the Army is not expecting to produce 100,000 155mm rounds per month until mid-2026.

The service is currently producing 40,000 rounds per month, Warren said — the same amount it was producing as of September 2024, according to a Defense Department release.

There are a “whole host of reasons” behind the stagnation in 155mm production, said Maj. Gen. John Reim, joint program executive officer for armaments and ammunition and commanding general of Picatinny Arsenal.

One challenge has been the supply chain for production equipment, Reim said in an interview.

“For a lot of this equipment that we need to rapidly expand capacity, it’s not sitting on a shelf somewhere,” and the Army has had to depend on international suppliers, he said. “We’ve [been] experiencing longer than expected lead times with some of that capability, and that has a cascading effect.”

An atrophied defense production base is one obvious sign of national decadence — and not the fun kind.