In Warsaw, U.S. defence contractor Northrop Grumman and Polish ammunition manufacturer Niewiadow-PGM have committed to a framework arrangement to produce 155-mm artillery shells in Poland, with an annual output target exceeding 180,000 rounds, company officials said.
Niewiadow set the 180,000-shell-per-year target when announcing the framework agreement. Asked about the expected production volume, Quinn Canole, Northrop Grumman’s managing director for Poland, referred to that output objective and said: "The capacities that we are able to support with our technology can support that level of production."
Canole said production will start "definitely inside this year" and that the manufactured ammunition would be available to the U.S., Poland and the wider European market. He did not rule out the possibility of supplying Ukraine.
The 155-mm calibre is widely used by Ukraine in its war with Russia and has been reported as being in short supply. The companies did not provide further details on initial production rates, specific delivery schedules or contractual buyers beyond the markets identified.
Technology and capacity
The partnership is intended to advance Northrop Grumman’s Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) technology in the production of artillery rounds. Canole described ADI as an iron heat treatment and casting method that employs commercial processes that are cheaper and quicker to adapt to artillery round manufacturing than traditional forging techniques.
He argued that adopting ADI enables increasing output. "As this technology matures, as it gets out into the field, and as it proves itself over time, we’re going to be able to scale that capacity greatly," Canole said, citing the technology’s potential to boost production as it is rolled out.
Strategic rationale and regional context
Krzysztof Krystowski, Northrop Grumman’s country manager for Poland, described the deal as a "natural opportunity" in light of rising defence expenditures across Europe. He noted that Poland expects to spend a NATO-leading 4.8% of its gross domestic product on defence this year.
Krystowski said the company decided roughly two years ago that Poland would become Northrop Grumman’s strategic continental Europe location "because of Poland’s spending on defence and the importance of Poland from a security point of view, but also from an industrial point of view."
He also said separate discussions with state-controlled Polish ammunition maker Mesko on co-production of 30-mm and 120-mm rounds were "very advanced."
Market implications
Officials framed the arrangement as both an industrial and strategic move to increase regional ammunition capacity and to introduce a manufacturing approach they say can be scaled faster than traditional methods. The companies have positioned the venture to address demand across multiple markets while retaining the option to sell to Ukraine.