SCALP / Storm Shadow / MdCN

[Sintra]

Is Storm Shadow still in production? If not then it needs to be restarted.

It is.
The line in Selles Saint-Denis never stoped building them, in the last decade MBDA received contracts for several hundreds by external buyer's.

 

[Forest Green]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzguRxYTVcU

Ukraine fires UK-made missiles into Russia for first time

Storm Shadow missile attack comes day after Kyiv used US-supplied long-range weapons to strike within Russia

www.theguardian.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1859266315480908072

View: https://x.com/NOELreports/status/1859266315480908072

 

[NMaude]

Hopefully Ukraine can strike those warehouses and ammunition bunkers in Russia where the missiles and drones used in Russia's air-raids are being stored (Being able to hit the drone and missile factories would be good too).

 

[Scott Kenny]

I agree those [retooling] costs are there but you amortize those costs over higher production runs with lower unit costs. As we move further into 3d printing then the complexity of the production line decreases and its ability to adapt to different designs improves. Raytheon is already doing this with many parts and whree Andruil is going with their Arsenal facilities points to where wider Industry, including European manufactures and Govts should be looking.

If we assume that munitions are broadly comparable to a high end performance car, I will note that Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini still keep an assembly line running at relatively low but constant rates instead of a production surge, retool, make something else, retool, make another run of the first item, retool etc.

Also, keeping an assembly line warm by a low constant production means that in the event of a war or military intervention that suddenly spikes demand for the weapons, you can expand the line much more easily than you can tool up from scratch.

 

[DWG]

Seems like there is rising interest to me https://www.raise3d.com/blog/3d-printing-automotive-industry/

That's talking about new forms of component and tool production, not a new form of production line.

 

[Ozair]

That's talking about new forms of component and tool production, not a new form of production line.

It was an example I found from a two second Google search. You could also read about Tesla and their supply chain and production changes impacting the industry although what Andruil is doing is far more relevant and in the same sector.

For example

We are bringing under one roof the capability to build everything Anduril currently produces across every conceivable variety of autonomous vehicle and weapon, and doing that at hyperscale.

Anduril Unveils 'Hyperscale' Arsenal-1 Factory Plan | Aviation Week Network

Anduril’s plan centers around Arsenal-1, a massive manufacturing facility designed to produce tens of thousands of autonomous military systems annually.

aviationweek.com

Seeking your agreement isn't the intent here, presenting an alternative for the future of weapons production is.

 

[Ozair]

If we assume that munitions are broadly comparable to a high end performance car, I will note that Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini still keep an assembly line running at relatively low but constant rates instead of a production surge, retool, make something else, retool, make another run of the first item, retool etc.

Also, keeping an assembly line warm by a low constant production means that in the event of a war or military intervention that suddenly spikes demand for the weapons, you can expand the line much more easily than you can tool up from scratch.

As we've seen with Ukraine support scaling production quickly even with a warm production line just isn't realistic. It has taken and will continue to take literally years for some systems and weapons to increase in rate. Most of that is due to supplier limitations but that is where shorter higher volume production runs make far more sense.

 

[Scott Kenny]

As we've seen with Ukraine support scaling production quickly even with a warm production line just isn't realistic. It has taken and will continue to take literally years for some systems and weapons to increase in rate. Most of that is due to supplier limitations but that is where shorter higher volume production runs make far more sense.

I suspect that is mostly due to suppliers buying things like computer chips off the shelf instead of having a chip fab they own for military projects.

Most chip fabs have at least a 6 month lead before they could possibly make your run of chips. Some are at 18-24 months lead time.