US Artillery Ammunition Production

[Milling man]

I bet, if they asked nicely. Ukraine would be willing to help out Moldova and get rid of their supply of old ammunition that is a fire/explosion hazard. Probably have to kick out a few thousand russian "guards" who are currently saving it from accidentally exploding in underground warehouses.

I hope you were joking. In the explosion of warehouses in Kolbasna, a lot of civilians from Moldova and their separatist region will suffer - and these are, sort of, citizens of Moldova.
These projectiles will never be used again anyway. Really a huge problem with these warehouses. What to do is unclear.
By the way, for a better understanding of the scale of the problem. Ammunition in these warehouses was supposed to supply the Warsaw Pact troops in the event of a big war for 1-2 weeks, until trains from industrial areas arrived.

 

[Bill D]

I meant Ukraine could haul off that old dangerous ammunition and fire it off in Eastern Ukraine. Of course they might ask russia to help act as a target range and not limit themselves to helping out only in Ukraine. No need to blow it up in Moldova near innocent civilians.
BilLD

 

[Milling man]

I meant Ukraine could haul off that old dangerous ammunition and fire it off in Eastern Ukraine.

This will be a huge problem. Trying to shoot that old shit is almost suicidal, no kidding. Even taking it off the shelf is dangerous, not to mention shooting.
Of course, some types of ammunition are quite resistant to time - while others, after 40 years of storage, are a very dangerous item.
A friend of mine used to destroy old ammunition during his military service. 6 people from his company died due to a combination of circumstances and unstable ammunition. It seems to be a missile from an ATGM. All these guys were conscripts, the officer went to smoke for a couple of minutes and survived. He was given 18 years in prison, and it seems he regretted that he did not die with the soldiers.
A photo of what was left of the guys then hung in the barracks - as a safety training manual.

 

[Milland]

All these guys were conscripts, the officer went to smoke for a couple of minutes and survived. He was given 18 years in prison, and it seems he regretted that he did not die with the soldiers.

It seems like Russia is one of the few places where being a smoker extends your life:

Nedelin catastrophe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Missile designer Mikhail Yangel and the test range commanding officer survived only because he had left to smoke a cigarette behind a bunker a few hundred metres away, but nonetheless suffered burn injuries."

 

[standardparts]

Appears to be a glitch in the system. Why is this not surprising?

A Lack of Machine Tools Is Holding Back Ammo Production, Army Says

The U.S. has enough raw materials, but the heavy equipment used to make artillery shells aren’t easy to buy.

www.defenseone.com

​

 

[Ries]

The link says “ machine tools”, but in reality the problem is specialized presses and heat treating line with automation. We havent made machines like that here for 50 to 70 years. The number one producers are China, Germany, Italy and Turkey. All have problems right now, and lead times are in years, not months.

 

[Rob F.]

Financial Times put out an article yesterday on the shortages of materials to produce artillery ammo, they seem to think the global supply chains wont be able to catch up to supply demands until 2026, so it looks like the DC's and NATO's dreams are soon to be coming to an end :

Explosives shortage threatens EU drive to arm Ukraine | Financial Times

Scarce gunpowder and TNT supplies delay shift to ‘large-scale war production’, defence industry and officials warn

www.ft.com

edit:
Sorry, I just read it with no subscription.....WTF?
If you do an internet search of the article title and financial times it should come up for you,
Copy & paste this into search bar:
Explosives shortage threatens EU drive to arm Ukraine - The Financial Times