Analysis of ammunition procurement FY 1999 - FY 2023

In a previous post, I gave an overview of Munitions and Missiles overall and dipped into a little of the data on missiles and equipment specifically. In this blog, I’ll provide some details on the ammunition accounts. I personally had to tag nearly 300 line items, so there may be some errors or oddly bucketed data, but here it is anyway. (Note, FY23 is from the budget request and a few of the years are enactment rather than actual.)

First, let’s break down ammunition procurement in constant FY23 dollars by type. Rockets is basically just the Hydra 70 rocket. Bombs includes things like GBU-57 MOP, practice bombs, demolition, and even the B-61 (I removed JDAMs and other actuation systems). Tanks and Artillery rounds include 155MM, 120MM, 105MM, 75MM, as well as simulators. Small arms includes 5.56MM, 7.62MM, 9MM, .50 caliber, and training rounds. Mortars include 60MM, 81MM, 120MM. Flares include air countermeasures and location markers. Cannons include 20MM, 25MM, 30MM, and 40MM rounds. All Other includes lines from protection systems like CWIS and active armor to escape systems to mines, mine clearing, fuzes, and EOD.

Ammunition procurement budget data FY99 – FY23

I’ll dive a little deeper into the Tank, Artillery, and Naval Artillery ammunition, followed by a deeper dive into artillery rounds.

Tank, Artillery, and Naval Artillery ammunition procurement budget data.

Most of the artillery is made up of 155MM, 155MM Excalibur precision munitions, and 105MM, as well as a separate line item for fuzes. There are barely any 75MM shells, they are used only for ceremonial purposes.

I think you can see in artillery shells that there is some choppiness in year-to-year procurement. A big up-and-down in FY 2003, then some stair-steps down during the budget control act FY 2011 to FY 2014, and then a big surge to nearly $1 billion in spend in FY 2019 only to drop in half by FY 2023. I’m sure Ukraine supplemental appropriations will bump 155MM shells back up, but without multi-year procurement industry might be weary of investment, only to be caught holding the bag.

By the way, quantities are often not provided for munitions except Excalibur. Between FY 2017 and FY 2019, roughly 2,000 155MM Excalibur shells were procured. That dropped to 905 in FY 2020, 646 in FY 2021, and 350 in FY 2022 enactment.