Russia's military machine speeds up, producing artillery shells that overwhelm the West?

Tanks and turrets at an assembly workshop of the Uralvagonzavod plant in Nizhny Tagil, Russia (Photo: Sputnik).

Russian companies are producing artillery shells three times faster and at a quarter of the cost of the US and its European allies, Sky News reported, citing analysis by consulting firm Bain.

Despite the West having a larger economy than Russia, it is lagging behind Moscow in terms of artillery shell production capacity.

Bain's forecasts indicate that by 2024, Russia will likely produce around 4.5 million artillery shells, while the EU and the US combined will produce around 1.3 million.

In addition, the cost of producing Russian 152mm artillery shells is significantly cheaper than the Western 155mm version.

The disparity in artillery production between the two sides was evident in the war in Ukraine.

On average, Russian forces can fire five rounds while Ukrainian forces can only fire one. This forces the Ukrainian military to aim more efficiently, using fewer rounds to achieve offensive effectiveness.

In mid-month, Ukraine said its brigades had not reported shortages of artillery shells for the first time since the start of the conflict. But supplies to Kiev remain limited and it is still waiting for Western pledges of ammunition to materialize.

Earlier this month, the head of Russia's Rostec defense conglomerate Sergey Chemezov said Moscow was building or refurbishing 350% more tanks by 2022.

In addition, Mr. Chemezov said, the production of weapons and ammunition in Russia has increased many times since the conflict between Moscow and Kiev broke out in 2022.

Mr Chemezov told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that about 80% of the weapons used by the Russian military in the conflict were supplied by Rostec.

"Compared to 2022, the production and refurbishment of tanks at our plants has increased 3.5 times, and light armored vehicles have increased three times. The production of self-propelled guns has increased tenfold, while the number of towed guns produced has increased 14 times, and the production of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) has doubled," the Rostec chief said.

Production of ammunition for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles has increased by 900%, artillery shells by 600% and MLRS shells by 800%. Mr Chemezov said that the number of unguided rockets for heavy flamethrower systems is being produced three times more.

According to the head of Rostec, new types of equipment have also been put to the "test fire" of combat, such as the TOS-2 heavy flamethrower system, which is capable of firing thermobaric warheads and "is widely used in combat". The Zemledeliye remote mine-laying systems are also being produced, as well as Krasnopol guided munitions, Kub UAVs and guided missiles for drones.

Rostec is also cooperating with the Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) to equip standard aviation bombs with glide modules and guidance systems, he said.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/co-may-quan-su-cua-nga-tang-toc-san-xuat-dan-phao-ap-dao-phuong-tay-20240526194708178.htm