AUSA 2024: Repkon Provides Machinery for Artillery Production
One of the biggest lessons from the war in Ukraine thus far has been that you need a lot of artillery rounds to fight a war – many more than NATO planners had anticipated. Raising production numbers for artillery ammunition, the common NATO 155mm round in particular, has been a major priority over the past two years with expanding production numbers even regularly being featured in mainstream news.
At AUSA 2024, Overt Defense spoke to a number of companies which are helping to make shell shortages a thing of the past. Among them, Turkish company Repkon stands out. Unlike most companies involved in this Herculean effort, Repkon doesn’t make artillery shells. Instead, it makes the industrial machinery needed to manufacture ammunition – be it artillery, tank, mortar, or any other type of round. This equipment is primarily exported to NATO partners, although the full list of Repkon’s customers is not public information.
Unlike any other firm on the market, Repkon can provide the equipment for the entire production process. This includes manufacturing the shell, manufacturing explosive propellants, and putting the components together into a final product that’s ready to be fired.
Repkon Concept Design Engineer Cem Denizhan Biro provided Overt Defense with some additional details:
“It’s a complete factory solution. The customer shows us only the length and our construction company makes the construction of the factory building. Then, we put the machinery and equipment in the factory. We call the staff of our customers and train them – one in Turkey, one in the customer’s location – and we teach them, how to take the raw material and how to form it into the final product. And, if it is requested, we can also help with the qualification process for our partners.”
Later, Mr. Biro elaborated on the value of such a complete factory solution:
“If you come to Repkon, you will have everything from one supplier. [Artillery ammunition] is a product that you must qualify. And if something happens during the qualification procedure, everybody will say ‘I’m not guilty’. […] But if you take responsibility from one end, that means there is only one responsible for the end product. This will be a guaranteed schedule for you.”
The capacity of a single 155mm production line is 120,000 projectiles per year. For smaller rounds such as 105mm artillery or 60mm mortar rounds, the production capacity is higher. Of course, a customer can order more than just one line which can mean “double or triple capacity”. As long as customer’s provide Repkon with all the data on what they want to manufacture, the company can prepare training and equipment for making any type of ammunition.