Why the 155 mm round is so critical to the war in Ukraine

This is a rotating carousel. You can navigate using the Next and Previous buttons.

1

You can also find out more about the following:

18

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pa. on Thursday, April 13 2023, is storing 155 mm artillery M795 projectiles during the manufacturing process. The 155mm howitzer is one of most sought-after artillery rounds in the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

2

You can also find out more about the following:

18

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, April 13th, 2023, is stacked with 155 mm artillery M795 projectiles during the manufacturing process. The 155mm howitzer is one of most requested artillery rounds of the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

4

You can also find out more about the following:

18

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pa. manufactures 155 mm artillery M795 projectiles on Thursday, April 13 2023. The 155mm howitzer is one of most sought-after artillery rounds in the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

5

You can also find out more about the following:

18

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pa. on Thursday, April 13th, 2023, is storing 155 mm artillery M795 projectiles for shipment to other facilities in order to complete the production process. The 155mm howitzer is one of most sought-after artillery rounds in the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

7

You can also find out more about the following:

18

Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pa. is clearing the area to increase manufacturing capacity for 155 mm artillery M795 projectiles on Thursday, April 13 2023. The 155mm howitzer is among the most sought-after artillery rounds in the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

8

You can also find out more about the following:

18

On Thursday, April 13th, 2023, a steelworker operates a machine that is used to manufacture 155 mm artillery projectiles M795 at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pa. The 155mm howitzer is one of most sought-after artillery rounds in the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

10

You can also find out more about the following:

18

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, April 13th, 2023, is stacked with 155 mm artillery M795 projectiles during the manufacturing process. The 155mm howitzer is one of most requested artillery rounds of the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

11

You can also find out more about the following:

18

Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, which manufactures the 155 mm artillery M795 projectiles in Scranton (Pa.), Thursday, April 13 2023. The 155mm howitzer is among the most sought-after artillery rounds of the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

13

You can also find out more about the following:

18

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pa. on Thursday, April 13 2023, has a yard full of steel used to manufacture 155 mm artillery projectiles. The 155mm howitzer is among the most sought-after artillery rounds in the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

14

You can also find out more about the following:

18

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pa. on Thursday, April 13 2023, has a yard full of steel used to manufacture 155 mm artillery projectiles. This historic factory in Scranton is the source of one of the most significant munitions used in the Ukraine War. Tons of steel rods arrive by train and are forged into 155mm shells that Kyiv cannot get enough of and the U.S. cannot produce fast enough.

Matt Rourke/AP

See More

Show Less

16

You can also find out more about the following:

18

Scranton Army Ammunition Plant will be in Scranton's downtown on April 13, 2023. This historic factory in Scranton produces one of the most vital munitions in the Ukraine War. Tons of steel rods arrive by train and are forged into 155mm shells that Kyiv cannot get enough of, but the U.S. cannot produce fast enough.

Ted Shaffrey/AP

See More

Show Less

17

You can also find out more about the following:

18

Airmen from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron move 155mm shells that are ultimately headed for Ukraine on April 29, 2022 at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The 155mm howitzer is one of most sought-after artillery rounds in the Ukraine War. The U.S. already shipped over 1.5 million rounds to Ukraine but Kyiv still wants more.

Alex Brandon/AP

See More

Show Less

WASHINGTON, AP -- The 155 mm Howitzer round is among the most requested artillery munitions in the Ukraine war. The U.S. already has more than 1.5 millions rounds in Ukraine. But Kyiv still wants more.

This article will explain why this particular weapon is used so often and how it has been crucial to the war in Ukraine.

What is the 155 mm?

The 155mm round is basically a large bullet made of four components: detonating fuse (detonator), projectile (bullet), propellant, and primer.

The diameter of each round is 155mm or 6.1" and it is approximately 2 feet long (60 centimeters). Each round weighs around 100 pounds (45 kilograms). These rounds are used for howitzer systems. These are large guns that can be towed and are distinguished by the firing angle that the barrels of these guns can be adjusted to.

The 155mm shells are available in a variety of configurations: they can be loaded with high explosives, guided by precision systems, or designed to pierce armor.

Previous variants included smoke rounds and illumination rounds for exposing an enemy's position.

The 155mm round, and the similar 152mm Soviet-era rounds, are popular because they offer a good compromise between range and warhead sizes, said Ryan Brobst. Brobst is a research analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. If you use a small shell, the damage will be less and it won't go as far. You can't fire as far if you use a bigger shell. It's the most popular middle ground and is why it's used so much.

155 MM HISTORIY

Keri Pleasant of the Army's Joint Munitions Command told The Associated Press that the French developed the 155 mm shell to combat the trench warfare in World War I. Early versions also included gas shells.

Pleasant stated that as World War I progressed, the 155mm gun was adopted by the Allies and later the U.S. Army.

The U.S. Army fielded their own version, the M1, during World War II. The new NATO alliance adopted 155 mm artillery as their standard after the war.

By the Korean War the round was modified yet again with a variant of cluster munition. Pleasant explained that the round was made up of 88 submunitions which were spread over a large area in order to destroy equipment, vehicles and personnel.

UKRAINE ITS USE

Howitzers can hit targets as far away as 15 to 20 miles, or 24 to 32 kilometers, depending on the type of round used and the firing system. This makes them a valuable weapon for ground forces who want to eliminate enemy targets at a safe distance.

"Adversaries are not given much notice of its arrival." Brobst added that it is harder to hide when incoming rounds are coming from above, making them more lethal.

Oleksandra Ustina, Ukrainian parliament member and member of Ukraine's wartime supervision committee, stated that 155mm rounds were being fired in Ukraine at a rate between 6,000-8,000 per day. She told reporters that the estimated 40,000 Russian-variant howitzer rounds being fired at them are far more powerful than the 155 mm rounds.

The Pentagon had previously stated how many rounds were included in each package of security assistance that was sent every two weeks or so to maintain the flow of weapons and ammunition into Ukraine. In February, it stopped specifying how many 155 mm round were shipped in each package. The reason given was operational security.

In its entirety, however,

Overall count

The Pentagon has provided assistance to Ukraine in the form of more than 160 155mm howitzers and 1.5 million 155mm rounds. It also sent over 6,500 precision guided 155mm rounds as well as more than 14,000 Remote Anti-Armor mine (RAAM) Systems. These are 155mm shells with four mines inside that can destroy a Russian tank when driven over.

Kyiv continues to ask for more howitzers. In the last year, Ukrainian officials requested up to 1,000 howitzers systems in order to push back Russian forces.

SPRING OFFENSIVE

Yehor Cherniv, a Ukrainian parliament member who spoke with reporters at a German Marshall Fund event, explained that Ukraine will need to fire between 7,000 and 9,000 155mm shells per day as it prepares to launch an aggressive counteroffensive in the spring.

The Biden administration, in recent months, has used the presidential drawdown authority, to send ammunition from U.S. stockpiles directly to Ukraine instead of waiting and buying rounds from defense companies, so that they can arrive there in time to counter the anticipated Ukrainian offensive.

The U.S. also trained Ukrainian troops in Germany in how to use the 155mm rounds better in combined arms tactic -- coordinated strikes with targeting data provided by forward-based soldiers and other armored system to maximize damage and decrease the number of shots needed to take out an enemy.

Nomaan merchant, a writer for Associated Press, contributed to this article.