U.S. Marines with Echo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, operate a M777 towed 155 mm howitzer during Weapons and Tactics Instructors Course 1-18 at Yuma, Ariz., on Sept. 30, 2017.
The Scranton plant, which has produced ammunition for the U.S. military since the Korean War, faces limitations as officials look to expand capacity. The facility is in the midst of a $120 million modernization that the Army hopes will open a new production line by 2025, but the buildings’ listing on the National Register of Historic Places constrains how the structures can be altered.
According to a Pentagon fact sheet released in early April, the U.S. has provided over 160 155 mm howitzers and more than 1.5 million 155 mm artillery rounds to Ukraine since the war began. It has also provided over 14,000 155 mm Remote Anti-Armor Mine Systems that contain four anti-tank mines that the round scatters on the ground near the target.