Image source: topwar.ru
In October last year, it was announced that the Ukrainian Armored Vehicles company had begun production of 105- and 155-mm artillery shells and 120-mm tank ammunition in the country under license from the Czech concern Czechoslovak Group (CSG).
CSG's task is only to continuously supply fuses, powder charges and caps for their assembly to the Ukrainian side, which has received all the necessary technical documentation, production technologies and knowledge base.
The initial goal was to manufacture 100,000 155-mm and 50,000 105-mm shells per year. It is expected that in the coming years this volume will increase many times, and the contribution of the Ukrainian defense industry to the supply chain will grow from the initial 50% to 80%. For example, it is planned to launch the production of fuses at the local level, first by producing components, and then complete assemblies.
The main product produced in this production is the widely used 155 mm M107 projectile. It was developed in the 1950s based on the older M102, which in turn is a development of the French 1917 model projectile (modèle 1917) designed for the 155 mm Schneider howitzer.
Image source: topwar.ru
The range of fire when using the M107 from an L/39 howitzer (for example, the M777) is about 18.5 km. This is not enough on the modern battlefield. For this reason, the Ukrainian Armored Vehicles company began production of a more modern L15 projectile, which was developed in Britain in the 1980s. When firing an L/39, it has a range of about 24.7 km. In the longer-barreled L/52 cannon (CAESAR self-propelled guns, PzH 2000, Krab, Bogdana and others) this value increases to about 30 km.
CSG is working to establish the production of two models of more modern ammunition with a maximum range of 30 and 40 km.
Ukrainian Armored Vehicles reported that the cost of the M107 they produce is about €2,500, and the L15 (without a gas generator) is about €3,000. As noted by local journalists, for comparison, in Russia the price of a set of projectile, powder charge and fuse for the 2S19 Msta self-propelled gun is 94-98 thousand rubles ($ 1,250), and a long–range one is 124 thousand rubles ($1,500). That is, Russian ammunition turned out to be twice as cheap.
