Canada to invest in technologies to boost 155mm artillery production

Reuters:  Canada on Thursday said it would invest C$4.4 million ($3.3 million) to help national defence manufacturers ramp up production of NATO-standard 155 mm munitions, shells desperately needed by Ukraine to defend itself from Russia's invasion, according to a statement.

The Canadian companies that will be getting the funding are IMT Defence, in Ingersoll, Ontario, and two units of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in Quebec.

"We are working with industry right now on ways to substantially increase the production of this ammunition in Canada – and I hope that we will have more to say about this in short order," Defense Minister Bill Blair said at the Ottawa Conference on Security & Defence.

The minister gave no timeline for when new production could start.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said earlier this year that a shortage of ammunition, which he described as "shell hunger", was a big problem for Kyiv's troops two years after Russia's full-scale invasion.

The North American Treaty Organization signed a 1.1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) contract for hundreds of thousands of 155mm artillery rounds in January, some of which will be supplied to Ukraine, with the first deliveries expected at the end of 2025.