Germany ramps up artillery production for Ukraine

Germany has allocated roughly £3 billion to expand its production capacity. The Rheinmetall group announced that a medium-caliber ammunition factory would be launched by the end of 2023 for use in Gepards. This will accompany the construction of a factory in Unterlüß, designed to produce 200,000 artillery shells per year.

Meanwhile, the total production capabilities of the Rheinmetall group, which includes factories in Germany, Spain, South Africa, Australia, and Hungary, aims to reach an annual production capacity of 700,000 artillery shells by 2025.

Many examples of German artillery ammunition, ranging from standard to experimental variants, are found in Ukraine. These include the 155 mm DM121 caliber projectiles, which cost around £2,583 each. These shells typically contain a detonator and trinitrotoluene (TNT) encased in steel. Notably, 85% of these fired shells hit targets the size of a football field located nearly 30 kilometers away, demonstrating their high accuracy despite being simple, unguided ammunition.

Ukraine is also supplied with similarly designed projectiles by Germany, but they possess an additional gas generator at the base of the shell. This feature can be seen, for instance, in the M1711A1 projectiles. The gas generator creates exhaust gases that diminish the vacuum, significantly reducing the projectile's base resistance and, thus, effectively increasing its range to roughly 40 kilometers.

Further, Germany's production line includes projectiles equipped with a supplementary rocket booster. Though taking up some space intended for explosives, the range is significantly extended to more than 60 kilometers. Though unobserved in Ukraine, these V-LAP-type shells resemble the American M549A1.

The most sophisticated creations are guided projectiles, amongst which the anti-tank artillery shells are quite notable. These self-guiding sub-projectiles contain EFP (Explosively Formed Projectile) warheads labeled SMArt 155. These projectiles, which have a maximum range of 28 kilometers, can demolish the T-90M - the most advanced Russian tank, as they target its weakest, upper armor.

Every SMArt 155 artillery projectile carries a load of two sub-projectiles fitted with two sensors: an infrared one that detects the target's thermal image and a radar for scanning a specific area. Following identifying a target, the sub-projectiles are deployed above them using parachutes and detonate over them. The EFP warheads then create kinetic penetrators that pierce the armor.

Furthermore, Ukraine has also received a small number of experimental Vulcano 155 GLR projectiles. These are sub-caliber projectiles, meaning their diameter is less than the cannon caliber, and are placed in a sabot that quickly disintegrates after being fired. Their higher muzzle velocity and better ballistic coefficient, compared to standard 155 mm caliber projectiles, enable them to travel further and accurately hit targets, even up to 80 kilometers away.

Such distant precision is ensured by a combination of GPS and INS navigation, offering a circular error probable (CEP) not exceeding 5 meters. There is also an option to reduce this to below 3 meters and to attack moving targets using a Semi-Active Laser (SAL) seeker head, an observer, or a drone illuminating the target with a laser beam.

But there is one drawback: these projectiles have a smaller warhead. However, it can operate in three modes to compensate for this: it can either detonate on direct impact with the target, with a delay, for instance, after penetrating a wall, or above the target to shower a lethal rain of fragments.

Despite the range and variety of artillery available, their effectiveness relies on sufficient supplies, an area where Europe sadly falls short. While the promise to deliver 1 million shells in 2023 was unfulfilled, this situation could change with the continued increase in production capacity, potentially leading to results by the end of 2024.